


The Sound of Magic

by Crea



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Vampire and Magician, I hope it grabs your attention, M/M, Ritsu is naked, character tags will be added as they appear, thats it thats all you need to know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 03:22:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9053158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crea/pseuds/Crea
Summary: He doesn't understand how and why he has gotten into this situationHe pinches his own cheek to verify that he's indeed awake, that this isn't a dream.That the image he sees is real.The image of some stranger, a boy that can't be much older than him lying next to him on the bed, curled up, sleeping peacefully.And he's completely naked.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again! 
> 
> I don't really know what to say about this work, except that as always I put all my love an effort into it.
> 
> I'm actually excited about this story, I thought about it almost a whole year ago, and while it won't be incredibly long, I still hope it will be entertaining for everyone.
> 
> I might change the summary at a later date. Right now, 2 of my friends forced me to put that.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!

When Mao discovered that he had been gifted with the ability of magic, the ability to cast unimaginable spells and tricks that no one else could, he decided that he would make the best use of it.

He never bragged about it, he never showed it off. He silently learned more about it, burying himself with books that were almost as big as him, full of dust as he was the first person --still a kid back then-- who could begin to understand the words in them.

Magic is a language itself, a language that is alive, growing, expanding and changing at such a fast speed that humans are giving up on catching up with it. They are starting to let go, letting it wander until it gets lost, until it can never return.

And yet, there are still some people that cling to it, catching up and after understanding its words, adding more to it, helping it become stronger.

Maybe magic is the one that clings into these people, choosing those who will help in its growth, knowing that they won't hold it back.

The words of magic, while they can be understood, its nature is still a mystery. 

Capricious as it is, it appears to not distinguish between good and evil, simply seeking for those that will go along with its selfish personality.

That could be the reason Mao could hear its words, understand its language.

Ever since he was a small kid, even before he discovered magic, he always found himself going along with everyone's requests, helping them as if it brought him joy.

And then, when magic appeared in his life, when he started to practise spells and tricks, helping others was the only thing he could think about.

Mao never had impossible goals, he never thought too high of himself, all he wanted was to live a life out of any troublesome thing.

Or at least, that's what he will always say. Claiming that he hates any troublesome thing but always getting into trouble himself, going out of his way to help those in need.

His life would have been a lot easier if it only applied to human beings, and of course, it would be even easier if it didn't apply to them either.

But Mao, unable to ignore those who need help, ends up offering his hand to them.

That's why he picked a bat.

It isn't a weird thing for him to take care of animals. Often the kids from the village would ask for his help when their pet got lost or hurt, as if Mao had become the solution to any problem, the master of any job.  _ Magic can solve it all, _ is what they probably think. But even if he has experience with them, animals aren't his main field.

Then again, he doesn't really know if he has a main field.

He found the bat, small and wounded, in the middle of the forest, when he was working in one of his many  _ many  _ tasks helping those in the village, finding herbs that would later be used for medical purposes.

He could have ignored it. The animal wasn't his responsibility, and even if he took him home, seeing its wounds, there was no guarantee it would survive. If he failed at keeping it alive he would only feel bad about himself.

But after seeing it, if he ignored it he would also feel bad about himself, as if the moment the small animal entered his field of vision it had become his responsibility.

He tried to convince himself that it would only be for a few days. If that was the case it wouldn't be too troublesome. He would feed it, treat its wounds, and once it was healed, set it free once again.

After all, even if he wanted to keep it, he's sure that a bat isn't a domestic animal.

Though he has heard of eccentric magicians that keep all kinds of animals and creatures by their side, forming a bond that is usually referred as their familiar. --Then again, he doesn't consider himself a magician. He never received the education for it and he's sure that any proper magician would feel offended if he used that word on himself.-- 

He isn't too sure if he should rely in the information he gets from rumours, but after spending a few days with the animal, he found himself getting attached to it.

He also found that the bat was definitely stronger than it appeared to be. Even if Mao used a few spells to help for the wounds to heal faster --after spending countless hours searching through books and papers for those spells-- at some point he understood that such a thing had been unnecessary.

He would keep the small animal next to him in any moment, keeping it on his bed even during sleep so he could check on it in any time. After a while, the bat too seemed to enjoy Mao's company, resting on the boy's head, making itself comfortable in the red tufts of hair.

All it would do was sleep tough, and Mao wasn't too sure if it was because it still needed to recover or the small animal simply enjoyed to nap.

Mao was really putting all his effort and care into making sure that the bat would heal. He wanted to make sure that once it healed, he would be strong enough to survive on his own, he wanted to make sure to not release it too soon.

It was just another task he took upon himself. He didn't expect any kind of reward, but he knew that he wouldn't lose anything either. 

That's why he doesn't understand how and why he has gotten into this situation.

Maybe he has been cursed. Maybe he did something unforgivable in a previous life. Maybe this is a prank.

He pinches his own cheek to verify that he's indeed awake, that this isn't a dream.

That the image he sees is real.

The image of some stranger, a boy that can't be much older than him lying next to him on the bed, curled up, sleeping peacefully in the spot that the bat he has been so dearly taking care of should be.

And he's completely naked.

Mao blinks once. Twice. Thrice. But the boy --naked-- is still there. He isn't an illusion.

He sits down, trying to come up with a logical solution to this situation, something that will explain it but his mind is completely empty. 

When Mao moves, the light that comes from the window seems to hit the stranger directly in the face, making his expression turn into a displeased one as he groans softly.

After that, he slowly opens his eyes, closing them immediately as the light seems to bother him, curling himself even more, trying to hide his face and go back to his peaceful sleep.

_ So he really is alive,  _ is the first thought that for whatever reason crosses Mao's mind. He gulps, not too sure if he feels scared because he has no idea of who this person might be or confused because he can't see the bat anywhere. 

It's both probably.

There's also a part of him that feels nervous because he's starting to connect some impossible dots, and he isn't too sure if he likes the conclusion those dots are coming into.

He opens his mouth, ready to talk and ask this stranger who is he, but before any sound comes out the boy, a young man to be more precise, groans softly once again.

This time he raises his head a little, opening his eyes and this time he doesn't close them, instead he looks at Mao and for a brief second Mao stops breathing, feeling that he's getting lost in the colour of those ruby irises.

He starts breathing again when the expression on the stranger's face softens, his lips curling into a smile as he tilts his head a little.

“Good morning,” his voice sounds so soothing, so beautiful and soft that is almost hypnotic and once again Mao finds himself holding his breath. “Maa-kun~” The stranger’s smile widens when he adds that and when Mao realizes that it's probably supposed to be a nickname, an affectionate one probably, his heart  _ definitely doesn't  _ skip a beat.

The stranger gets in his knees slowly, lazily, stretching his arms, his back, his whole body, but he still doesn't seem to be completely awake. Instead it looks like he's ready to fall asleep again, that the only reason he has bothered to stretch his body is to avoid for it to get sore.

And Mao can see, thanks to the pose he's in, thanks to the movements that the stranger has done --now yawning while still on his knees, without any care at all-- that he's indeed completely naked.

He can also see, some wounds in his body and more dots are connected.

Once again, he isn't too sure if he likes the outcome he's getting.

“Who are you?” Mao finally speaks, voice shaking as he grips into the blanket of his bed, as if it was some kind of protection shield that also gives him courage. “Why are you here?” He adds, and he's surprised at himself that he has managed to speak once again.

The stranger looks at him displeased, the smile he had before is nowhere to be seen, it has been replaced by a frown that doesn't seem intimidating thanks to the childish pout accompanying it.

“How rude, Maa-kun.” His expression doesn't change as he slowly places his hands on the bed, close to Mao and starts crawling closer to him. Yet his voice doesn't sound angry, he actually sounds amused about it. “You are the one that brought me here.” He adds, closing the distance between them and even if Mao thinks that he's supposed to be sulking, he can definitely see that he's having fun with this situation.

But more important than that, something inside Mao's mind clicks in, making him realize that the thing he was thinking about is indeed the correct solution.

“The bat?” He asks, voice almost a whisper as he can't believe that this is really happening, that the small animal he was nursing back to health has become an actual human being.

The bat that has now become a human smiles at him, closing his eyes as he finally places himself on top of Mao's body, his faces a few centimeters apart.

And Mao isn't too sure about how to feel. His heart beating faster not knowing if it's because he still can't believe the situation he's in or because there's a naked young man on top of him.

“That's it~” he sing-songs cheerfully, definitely amused at Mao's reaction, still gripping onto the blanket --definitely harder than before-- as his eyes widen in surprise.

“How…?” His green eyes, open wide thanks to the surprise, look directly into the stranger's red ones, not defensive or scared, those feelings have disappeared and have been replaced with curiosity. 

“Who knows…” The stranger decides to avoid the question, looking away from Mao's eyes as he feels that he wouldn't be able to lie to him if he stares at his eyes directly. He does know how it happened after all. “The only thing that matters,” he continues, the smile returning to his face as he decides to look once again into Mao's eyes. “Is that I'm here to become your familiar.” He brings his face even closer to Mao's, so close that he can feel his warm breath brushing against his skin.

Mao opens his mouth in awe, not believing his ears.

“My familiar?” He asks, louder than he intended, seemingly not minding that his personal space has been invaded.

  
“I will be under your care~” and as soon as he speaks those words, he shortens the distance between them even more, making their lips meet in a kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for all the positive feedback! I really didn't expect for this small story to be so liked so far, so I'm really happy!
> 
> Please enjoy the second chapter as well!

The first thing that Mao notices is that the kiss isn't forceful. The boy isn't grabbing onto him, he isn't adding force, his lips aren't pressing too strongly against his. It's soft, almost timid, as if he knew that being too aggressive would only leave a bad impression on Mao.

The second thing he notices is that he doesn't dislike it. The boy has closed his eyes, and for a second Mao wonders if the reason the kiss is so feather is because he's still sleepy.

He gives in, closing his eyes as well, enjoying the soft brush of their lips.

Until he notices that this definitely can't be right.

He backs away, too quickly, miscalculating the distance of the wall and accidentally hitting the back of his head with way more strength than he would have ever wished.

He mutters a complaint, touching the part that has been hit, pained, and hoping that he won't have any bruise.

And then he hears a soft laugh, a chuckle, definitely someone laughing at him.

He opens his eyes embarrassed, seeing that the bat who has now turned into a human is laughing at him.

“What are you doing!?” Mao tries to not sound flustered but his voice and face betrays him, speaking too loud and with his cheeks bright red, he doesn't give off the calm and collected image he was aiming for.

“I'm laughing.” The stranger replies cheerfully, not moving a single inch from the place, still on top of Mao, still naked.

Mao can feel his face burning even more, he's starting to feel frustrated because he feels, he  _ knows  _ that this guy is just playing with him.

“I meant before that.” He clarifies, thinking that it might be a very bad idea because he already knows what was the stranger doing, and now he's just giving him a chance to mess up with him even more.

“Ah, that…” The boy tilts his head smiling softly at him. “I was kissing you?” He answers, cheerfully, playfully as if he was trying to guess something even if the answer was obvious. 

Mao glares at him, the confirmation of his actions only making him feel more flustered.

The stranger brings one of his hands closer to his own face, touching his lips with his fingers.

“It looks like it didn't work…” He mumbles softly, moving his hand once again to the place it originally was, next to Mao. 

A disappointed sigh leaves his mouth and Mao raises an eyebrow, not understanding what's happening.

“It didn't work?” He repeats, curious as it looks like the strangers actions do have a reason instead of being some kind of intrusion or harassment.

“I already told you, I'm here to become your familiar.” The dark haired boy explains, eyes wide as his voice sounds now unamused. “Maa-kun should hear me when I talk…” He complains, pouting once he's done talking.

“Yea… I still don't get it.” Mao answers, still confused but somehow already getting used to the stranger's presence.

Or maybe he's just getting dragged into the mood.

“Maa-kun, aren't you a magician?” the stranger seems to start getting frustrated about how slow Mao is picking the clues. 

“Not really.” Mao sighs.

“But you can do magic.” The boy’s frustration seems to be replaced with confusion instead, once again tilting his head and his voice sounding softer.

Mao hasn't thought that he looks cute like this.

He  _ really  _ hasn't.

“That's not magic that's…” Mao tries to come up with a good explanation, he's well aware that for everyone he might seem a magician, but he knows the difference, he knows that he's level barely reaches an apprentice’s. “If you saw the real deal you would understand…” 

The stranger hums, softly, observing Mao and Mao has to avert his gaze because now that they are quiet again, he remembers that the boy is still naked.

He seems amused by this, seeing that Mao is trying to not look at him, he brings his hand to Mao's chin, forcing him to look forward, to look at him.

“You are the only one I have seen.” He can see that Mao grips the blanket tighter, stiffening under his touch and he wonders if it's because he's scared or because he's nervous. “You are the real deal for me.” He tries to sound softer, trying to make sure that Mao won't feel threatened by his presence. “I don't need to see anyone else…” As he finishes speaking, he leans closer for another kiss, trying to be as gentle as previously.

Or it would have been a kiss if Mao hadn't backed away just in time.

The boy frowns, as he obviously hasn't liked the gesture.

“Wh-what are you trying to do…?” Mao tries to sound as calm as possible, but the way he has stuttered and the red shade on his cheeks betray him.

“I'm trying to kiss you?” He replies, in a childlike voice that Mao doesn't want to admit he's enjoying far more than he should.

“I can see that.” Mao sighs, feeling that they already had a similar conversation a few moments ago. “But…”

“Maa-kun sure loves to make useless questions.” The stranger interrupts him, shaking his head softly.

This time Mao is the one who frowns, feeling offended that this boy is making fun of his confusion.

“I'm not going to kiss anyone whose name I don't know.” Mao says, his voice tainted with some anger, frustrated that he doesn't know how to deal with this situation.

“Does that mean that if I tell you my name you will let me kiss you?” The boy asks, amused as he gets even closer to Mao once again.

“That's not what I…”

“Ritsu.” He interrupts Mao. “That's my name.” He adds, and Mao is surprised that unlike he was thinking, Ritsu hasn't tried to kiss him again.

Mao nods slowly, trying to make sure he won't forget the name. Surprisingly, it does make him feel better, knowing his name makes him feel less nervous.

“And why do you want to…” his eyes fall on Ritsu's lips, which he tries to avoid as he thinks it's not good, but when his eyes look down, seeing that he's still completely naked, he decides that looking at Ritsu's lips isn't that bad. “Kiss me…?” He whispers his voice barely audible as he remembers that he actually enjoyed the touch of Ritsu's lips on his.

Ritsu smiles, seeing Mao’s face turn even more red, seeing how cute he looks and it only makes him want to kiss Mao once again, see just how cute he can get.

But he knows, that Mao won't let himself be kissed so easily again. It's unfair though, because the way he has made that question, the way he has interrupted himself while talking, it makes it sound like he's asking Ritsu to kiss him again. And Ritsu isn't too sure if he can hold back.

Or maybe it's just that he doesn't want to hold back.

He thinks, about what kind of answer he can give Mao, to make him look even cuter without the need to kiss him.

Ritsu smiles, a grin, playful and teasing as he has managed to think about the best answer.

“Because I love you~” 

And then he sees, Mao's eyes open wide, his face gaining another shade of red --Ritsu is surprised by this as he thought that it was impossible for Mao to blush even more-- and his mouth opening and closing, without any sound coming out as he has no idea what kind of words he should speak in this situation.

“Do-don't…” Ritsu smiles even more seeing how Mao can't even speak a sentence. “Don't screw with me…!” Mao finally manages to say, deciding that it's time to step out from the bed and put some distance between Ritsu and him.

He feels that his heartbeat is irregular, too fast, but he's sure that there's no way Ritsu meant that for real.

He closes his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm down as he hears Ritsu laughing, still on the bed. Which only makes it more difficult for him to believe that he was being serious.

Ritsu decides to not say anything. He knows it will only make things worse, that there's no way Mao will believe him, so it's better to wait until later.

Mao opens his eyes once he has calmed down, and the first thing he sees is that Ritsu is still lying on the bed, completely naked and that's something that completely ruins all the calm he had managed to gather.

“First… put some clothes on…” He manages to say, trying to not stare for too long.

And it really is amusing for Ritsu to see Mao acting like this, he doesn't want for this fun to stop. 

“But Maa-kun~” Ritsu rolls around in bed, before finally stepping out from it. “Until now I was never wearing clothes?” He gets closer to Mao, forcing Mao to look at him, making sure that he stays in his field of vision. “And you didn't seem to care.” He pouts, in an attempt to seem upset and make Mao fall for the trick.

It does seem to work, as Mao doesn't say anything against that.

Either that, or his brain has simply stopped working after having a good look from so close at Ritsu.

He closes his eyes once again and after taking a deep breath --he feels that's something he has done way too much already today, even if he has just woken up-- he gets closer to the bed, grabbing the blanket and quickly wrapping it around Ritsu, before he can even complain about it.

“At least cover yourself a little…” Mao tells him softly, making sure that the blanket is covering all his body, that there isn't anything that will distract him when he looks at Ritsu. “You don't want to catch a cold, right?”

Ritsu pouts a little, not too happy that thanks to the blanket he won't be able to tease Mao anymore, that his fun is over.

He still holds onto it, making sure that it won't fall, that it will keep him covered.

Even if he doesn't want to admit it, he was feeling cold now that Mao isn't close to him to share his warmth, and he thanks the piece of cloth.

“You don't look very surprised.” Ritsu speaks, finally getting somewhat serious. “Last night I was a bat, and this morning I'm a hottie.”

Mao snorts when he hears Ritsu call himself that, and Ritsu smiles without realizing, enjoying the sound of Mao's laugh.

Though soon after hearing his laugh he decides to pretend to feel offended.

“Maa-kun that's rude.” He scolds, even if there's no real reason for him to lecture Mao. He has done way more rude things after all.

“I admit it surprised me at first.” Mao says, completely ignoring Ritsu's comment as he stops laughing. “But I have heard about way more weird stories.” He explains shrugging. “A visitor from the stars who kidnapped a noble to show him around the world, a prince who found true love after kissing a frog… I guess that if those things are true, a bat who turns into a human can happen too.” Mao smiles softly as he says that.

Ritsu hums, still not really understanding why would Mao think that this situation is normal. It's not like he never personally experienced something like that… right?

Though, maybe because he can do magic, or tricks like he calls it, makes him more open minded.

“So Maa-kun is the kind of person who adapts easily to any situation…” He deduces, speaking his thoughts out loud.

“Not really.” Mao denies, shaking his head. “Denying whatever happens in front of my eyes will only cause trouble, and all I want is a peaceful life.” 

And this time Ritsu is the one who laughs, for a brief moment, before he decides to sit down on the bed, feeling that standing requires way too much effort.

He has seen Mao helping everyone in the village even when they never asked for it directly, he has assumed that Mao must have some kind of chronical disease that won't allow him to ignore those who need help

“I'm going to prepare breakfast.” Mao decides, stretching his arms. “Help me, will you?” 

“No waaaaaaay.” Ritsu whines, lying back on bed and rolling until he finds a comfortable position, still not letting go of the blanket. Mao glares at Ritsu when he sees this action, his eyebrows turning down in a somewhat angry expression. 

Ritsu seems to notice this and tries to find a good excuse so he can slack off for a little longer.

“I still haven't recovered…” He tries, before Mao can force him to work. “You won't make an injured person do physical effort, right?” 

“Cooking breakfast doesn't really require physical effort though.” Mao argues, trying to not fall in the obvious trap that Ritsu is setting for him.

“Maa-kun is an ogre… interrupting the precious rest of an injured person…” Ritsu doesn't back off, attempting for emotional blackmail now. “What if my wounds open and I bleed to death…” He exaggerates, burying his face on the pillow, already sure that he has managed to get away with his plan.

And it does seem to work, as Mao's expression softens.

He knows better than any other how bad Ritsu's wounds were, and he knows that he still hasn't fully recovered.

“How did you get those injuries in the first place…” Mao wonders.

Ritsu turns around to look properly at Mao, which proves to be a mistake because seeing the concerned expression on his face he really can't lie to him.

But he doesn't want to admit that he doesn't really remember anything from the attack until he woke up at Mao’s house.

“A wild dog attacked me…” He says, having a feeling that that's the closest thing to what happened.

“A dog?” Mao raises an eyebrow, not too convinced about the answer. The wounds he has… Surely they could have been caused by an animal, but he doubts a dog could have done that.

“Or it could have been a wolf…” He tries again, but it still doesn't feel quite right.

“There aren't wolves around here.” Mao says, shutting down that option. “There are deers and foxes… but I doubt they would attack a bat…”

Ritsu hums, not wanting to correct Mao and explaining that he was in his human form back then.

He doesn't know how will Mao react once he tells him that rather than a simple bat, he's a far more interesting creature.

But he knows that humans fear vampires, it's better to wait until he has made sure to show Mao that he isn't a threat.

“Maybe a werewolf…?” He tries one last time. And this time it does sound like that could have been.

He does know about a werewolf, but there's no reason for him to be attacked.

Unless his brother is involved in this.

Just thinking about that pisses him off though, so he tries to forget about it.

“Are they even real…” Mao asks a little sceptical, but not really denying it. He sighs after that, scratching the back of his head as he realizes that it's useless to ask Ritsu about it. “I guess it's not weird if you forgot about it.” He knows about people who after a traumatic experience they block the memory away… Though he isn't sure about how do that kind of things work. “I guess it's better this way…” He mutters to himself.

If Ritsu remembered whatever left him in this state… He remembers how Mao thought he wouldn't make it when he brought him back, how even after looking in countless books he couldn't find anything that would completely cure him.

_ Everything is fine now.  _ He tells to himself, eyeing at Ritsu, the blanket not letting him see the wounds on his body and Mao is quite glad about that.

“Taking care of your wounds will be more troublesome now…” He complains. “Your body is bigger, so your wounds too.”

“Maa-kun worries too much~” Ritsu says cheerfully, smiling as he once again rolls on the bed, getting a little closer to the edge so he can get closer to Mao. “Just sleeping will make them heal.” His voice sounds gentle and reassuring, trying to make Mao feel better.

It does seem to work, as he sees Mao's body relax a little, his face even showing a soft smile.

“I'm going to cook breakfast.” Mao repeats, thinking that it's better for both of them if they finish the previous conversation. “You can rest here, so if you want anything…”

“A kiss?” Ritsu interrupts him, his voice sounding childish but the smile on his face clearly showing that his intentions aren't childish at all.

“To eat, you can tell me now.” Mao finishes talking, completely ignoring Ritsu's comment.

Ritsu already expected that kind of reply so he still keeps his smile as he closes his eyes.

“Sleep is better than food~” 

Mao doesn't really want to leave him without eating, but apparently, the reason the bat used to sleep so much, rather than because of his wounds seems to be because he's found of it.

When Mao leaves the room, still looking a little concerned but not ready to force Ritsu to do anything he dislikes, Ritsu lets himself relax, sinking into the mattress.

He feels exhausted just by talking like this, not only because of his wounds but because daylight is truly tiresome for someone like him.

And there's also…

His fangs ache. He hasn't tasted a proper amount of blood for far too long.

He doesn't know how long he will be able to hold back, and he knows he can't ask Mao for it, after everything he has done for him…

Even if his blood is delicious…

He shakes his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts.

Instead, he starts thinking about how fun it was to see Maa-kun’s different reactions, the faces he made, the way his lips tasted.

He's sure that if he keeps thinking about that, he will have sweet dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There have been a few references to other characters... Some of them might appear in the story or maybe not, who knows~
> 
> Once again thanks for reading! Every feedback motivates me to write even more so thank you very much!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry for the delay, but to make up for it, here we go with an extra long chapter!  
> I'm incredibly surprised at all thr positive feedback that I'm getting, so thank you very much. Every comment on here and on Twitter, every kudo, every bookmark make me even more motivated to write, so I'm very thankful, if I keep going is because of you all~!

Ritsu thought that Mao would end up waking him at some point, but when he opens his eyes he can see that the sun is already setting, that Mao let him sleep as much as he wanted.

He notices that the burning ache he felt earlier on his teeth has disappeared and he feels relieved. He can still feel the thirst, but as long as he doesn't constantly feel the urge to dig his teeth, his fangs, on Mao's soft skin it should be fine.

He knows that the reason he feels that urge must be because he's wounded. The healthier he feels, the less he needs to drink. But to heal faster, blood is required.

It's like a paradox. A really annoying one too.

Ritsu can still control himself. He doesn't want to leave Mao's side, not only as long as he's wounded, he wants to stay for as long as he can. For the sake of that, he will hold back.

Though he does realize that someday he will have to tell Mao that he isn't just a small bat that somehow turned into a human.

For now, that can wait. Mao had enough surprises for today.

Ritsu tugs the blanket, covering himself better with it as it looks like he has uncovered himself a little during sleep, making him feel cold and part of him regrets not asking Mao for clothes.

But when he remembers the face he was making while seeing him naked, how fun it was to see that Mao was trying to avoid having a look at him and failing, he smiles, thinking that in the end being cold for a little while was worth it.

He takes a deep breath, smelling Mao's scent, impregnated in every part of the house. A smell that is both, delicious and comforting.

Then he decides to look around, seeing that Mao is really not in the room. It makes him feel a little lonely. When he was a bat Mao would never take his eyes away from him, keeping him close.

The feeling of being on bed, even if comfortable, can't be compared to how warm he felt while making himself comfortable on Mao's hair.

“Maybe I should have waited a little more… Before showing myself like this…” He mumbles, finally deciding that it's time to get out from bed and try searching for Mao, but before he completely stands up and gets out from the comfortable bed, he sees that on the small nightstand there is a dish with what Ritsu guesses that is food.

He smiles looking at it, Mao must have left it there so Ritsu could eat when he woke up. Though by now it should be cold…

Or that's what Ritsu thought. But after having a closer look to it, he notices that there seems to be something surrounding the dish. A bubble… something that Ritsu can't see properly, but when he tries to touch it, curious, it disappears.

He takes his hand away, not understanding what's happening, but if it's something that Mao did it can't be bad, or at least that's what he thinks.

It's then when he notices that the food seems to be still warm, as if it had been just cooked, even if he's sure it's been hours since Mao made it.

“Magic…?” He tries to guess. “Maa-kun calls them tricks though…” When he picks the plate, Ritsu notices that it really looks like time hasn't passed since he made the dish. He smiles, thinking that Mao put too much effort into this when he shouldn't.

Because as he thought, this can't please him.

Even if it's been dearly made by Mao just for him, human food has no nutritive value for him.

“Maa-kun’s blood would be much better for a breakfast than this~” He says cheerfully for himself. Since Mao isn't around, he can say things like these without any worry.

Ritsu still decides to keep eating. Mao put all his effort into it, if he decided to leave it as it was, he might get upset.

Though considering Mao’s personality, rather than getting upset, Ritsu feels that he would be scolded until he finishes the dish. Saying that he needs to heal and things like those…

If only he knew.

At least, thanks to the food being warm, he doesn't feel cold anymore, which makes eating it worthy.

Once he's done with the food, he decides to stand up, finally starting his search for Mao, dragging his feet along with the blanket.

Now that he's in his human form, the house seems even smaller than it already is. He never paid too much attention, being busy sleeping and playing with Mao's hair while lying on his head, but everything is really cramped.

If it weren't because Mao has a room for himself and a small studio in separate rooms, everything would be in the same room.

As soon as you open the door if you come from the street, you will be greeted with the sight of a messy living room, full of books and papers. The two couches, which Mao uses mostly to receive visits, are in front of each other, a small tea table in the middle of them. A couple of steps further from both couches, without making any distinction that a new room of the house begins, you find the kitchen.

Mao doesn't own much furniture. Even the kitchen is only kitchen in name, having the most basic so Mao can prepare food. When he needs to eat it, he usually walks to the studio, eating as he continues to work.

He has to admit that his magic is really convenient in these cases, as he doesn't have to worry about his food getting cold if he gets distracted, he can heat it up in a single second.

The so called studio, consists on a small room which Ritsu has managed to guess that was supposed to serve as closet, as the only things that Mao has managed to fit there are a small desk, a chair and a couple of books. 

If the door is closed, only one person can fit in, Ritsu is sure of it even if he has never tried it.

He really wonders how come Mao doesn't suffer from claustrophobia inside of that small and cramped space.

It doesn't take long for Ritsu to discover that Mao is working there, the door open, something unusual and he wonders for a second if it's because he wanted to be aware if Ritsu woke up.

Which has proven to be useless as he's so into the work that he doesn't seem to be paying attention to anything else.

It's not a sight that Ritsu dislikes. Seeing Mao working so hard. He knows that he puts his whole heart into everything he does, his magic studies --even if he will keep insisting that it's not real magic if he doesn't receive the proper education-- taking care of the chores, helping people.

And that, of course, immediately makes Ritsu know that when he was taking care of him, Mao was putting all his heart and effort into it.

But that doesn't mean that it's enough. Mao isn't paying attention to him now, he's doing something completely different, not even noticing that he's awake, which is something that Ritsu can't stand.

He decides that it's time for Mao to take a break. Who knows for how long he has been working.

Ritsu gets closer to him, immediately wrapping his arms around him, leaning closer, his head over Mao's shoulder and Mao almost jumps in surprise from the seat.

“Good morning~” Ritsu says cheerfully, his voice still sounding sleepy as he extends his arms enough to grab Mao's hands and force him to stop working.

The reason he's doing this is because Mao deserves a rest. It totally isn't because Ritsu wants to be the one who gets all of Mao's attention.  _ That's definitely not the reason. _

“Ri-Ritsu!?” Mao yelps surprised, turning his face to look at Ritsu and immediately regretting because  _ he's way too close.  _

It takes less than a second for Mao to look away from Ritsu, instead directing his gaze at the pile of papers and books in front of him.

Ritsu hums pleased, the sound of his name being called by Mao sounding far too nice into his ears, as a melody that he never wants for it to end.

“I didn't notice you were awake…” He sounds more relaxed now, but his body language speaks otherwise. His hand has gripped the pen tighter when he has felt Ritsu's hand moving over it, and he still hasn't loosened his grip. His whole body feels rigid under Ritsu's.

Ritsu really wonders if the reason Mao feels so nervous around him is because he still hasn't gotten used to his presence, or because he's actually trying to suppress just how much he's enjoying his presence.

He really hopes it's the second option.

“That's because you were working too hard.” Ritsu's words come out almost like a whisper, directly into Mao's ear as he decides to let go of his hand, instead placing his arm around Mao's body and cursing the chair that is blocking him from feeling Mao's warmth close to him.

Ritsu is holding the blanket steady with his other hand, aware that if it falls he will only make things even more uncomfortable for Mao.

“I haven't been working for too long…” Mao complains softly, not agreeing with Ritsu's statement but finally letting go off the pen. This is a good time for a break, besides, it doesn't look like Ritsu is going to let him work more.

“The sun is already setting.” Ritsu informs him to prove that he's wrong.

“For real?” He asks, not too surprised but not pleased by the news. “Did you eat the food I left for you?” Mao asks suddenly, changing the subject abruptly and Ritsu wonders if he has made that question because Mao himself is feeling hungry now.

“I did~” The vampire replies, “though, I would have preferred to have Maa-kun for breakfast~” he adds, proceeding to place small kisses on the red-haired boy’s neck.

He can feel Mao shudder under him, he can smell the scent of his blood, he can feel the blood rushing through his veins and it makes Ritsu's head feel like spinning, the ache he felt earlier returning, a voice at the back of his head telling him to dig his fangs into Mao's soft  _ soft  _ skin and drink his blood.

It's like putting a piece of chocolate on his lips but not being able to eat it.

“What are you doing!?” Mao jumps out of the seat, putting some distance between Ritsu and him.

Unfortunately for him, being in the room that they are, all the distance he can put between them in less than an arm's length.

Still, it's enough for Ritsu to realize what he was about to do, the ache of his fangs almost disappearing.

Almost.

“I already told you~ Maa-kun just looks too delicious.” Ritsu teases him, stepping back to leave enough space for Mao to exit the room, making sure that he won't feel threatened by his presence. After all, Ritsu has no intention of locking Mao in a room.

Mao sighs and seeing that he can leave the room and walk to a more open space, he does so, stretching his arms and back as it looks that he spent way too long on that desk.

“Humans aren’t food.” Is all he says, a complaint or maybe a lecture, Ritsu isn't too sure because Mao sounded way too tired for him to have any emotion in his voice. 

Ritsu is curious about what is he working in, but even if he looks at the books that Mao had been reading and the notes he had been taking, there isn't anything that even begins to make sense for Ritsu. He guesses that even if he asks for an explanation, he wouldn't understand anything that is related to magic.

He isn't too interested either. If Mao has his full attention on something that isn't him, then Ritsu prefers to not know about it.

If Ritsu doesn't know about it, then it doesn't exist, at least not for him, meaning that he's still the center of Mao's attention.

That's the kind of logic he has decided to apply in this kind of situation.

“Are you hungry?” Mao asks from the kitchen, apparently Ritsu was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Mao moving further and further away from him.

“Not really…” He replies, feeling that he's lying because he's dying to get a good meal. But of course, the meal he wants isn't something that Mao can cook.

Ritsu hears Mao humming softly. He doesn't push on him that he needs to eat as he probably remembers that he just ate all the food that Mao left in the room for him.

The vampire starts walking to the kitchen, to keep Mao some company… or to be more specific, to make sure he's not the one who's left alone and bored, but his feet hits something on the floor as soon as he starts walking.

Even if he had noticed before, it's now that Ritsu starts paying attention at just how disordered Mao's house is. At first he thought that the only things on the floor were books and papers, but then he discovers that there are various things like herbs, small rocks, feathers and even a cat toy lying around.

“Maa-kun sure is messy~” Ritsu teases him, picking the cat toy and playing with it, swinging it and wondering whose idea it was to give Mao such a thing when he doesn't even own a cat.

Mao turns around, glaring at Ritsu with a pout that clearly shows that he isn't happy about the state his house is in, maybe embarrassed even.

“I don't have time to keep everything in order. Everyone in the village keeps giving me stuff as present, and I'm busy working so…” He excuses himself, looking away from Ritsu and trying to make that the end of the conversation.

But of course, Ritsu won't give up so easily.

He gets closer to Mao, cat toy still on his hand as he swings it in front of Mao, so close to his face that it's actually brushing his nose and Ritsu hopes to hear him laugh, saying that it tickles, but all the response he receives is that Mao smacks the toy out of Ritsu's hand with an incredibly annoyed expression in his face.

The amusing and playful smile on Ritsu's face disappears as he sees the toy getting snatched away, following it with his eyes but knowing that he has no chances to get it back.

“You don't have anyone to help you clean up?” Ritsu continues the previous conversation, if Maa-kun is taking his fun away just like that, then he's going to continue making him feel flustered by reminding him how messy his house is.

“As you can see, I live alone.” Mao replies and, much to Ritsu's disappointment, he doesn't look flustered about it. Actually, Ritsu feels that there's a hint or sadness or maybe loneliness in the way he has spoken. “So unless you want to help me,” Ritsu groans as soon as he hears those words, already hating the idea of having to work, “the house will stay like this for a while longer.”

It doesn't take much for Ritsu to understand the situation. Mao doesn't seem to use the house for other than work and sleep, with occasional breaks for food as well. He has too many things that can't be kept in a tiny closet, so instead he decided to invert it. Because it has the capacity of keeping more things, the living room became a storage room instead of his workplace, while the place that was supposed to serve for storage became his workplace.

But Ritsu notices another thing.

Mao is young, even for human standards.

And yet he lives alone.

“What about your family?” Ritsu asks, unable to hold back the question that without realizing comes out more serious than intended.

And he can see Mao's eyes widen for a second. He isn't too sure if it's because he's surprised that Ritsu made a question like that or because he doesn't like the question.

“Vampires…” The answer comes out softly from Mao's lips and Ritsu holds his breath --not like he actually needs to breathe in the first place.

He tries to remember, before meeting Mao, when was the last time he drank blood, whose blood he drank, the state that human was left in… but it's useless. Human concepts like time are something that he still can't understand.

Ritsu couldn't possibly have…

“My little sister was scared of the rumours going around about vampires living somewhere in the outskirts of the village, so she forced my parents to move away.” Mao continues his explanation, shaking his head softly, rather than an explanation it sounds more like he's complaining about it. “I couldn't go with them because everyone in the village wanted for ‘the magician’ to stay but… Why are you looking at me like that?” Mao interrupts his explanation when he sees that Ritsu's face shows something between rage and disappointment.

“Maa-kun that was mean!” Ritsu scolds him and Mao realizes that that's the loudest he has heard him. Ritsu's voice is usually lethargic, barely audible if you aren't paying attention, so this is something new.

It's a surprise, but it's not a bad thing.

“Sorry…?” Mao apologizes, still trying to recover from the surprise but also not really understanding what he did wrong. Until it clicks in. “You thought vampires attacked my family?” He asks, still surprised instead of curious.

Ritsu takes a while to reply, glaring at Mao because he's making it sound like that was a stupid assumption.

“The way you said it made it sound like that was the case.” Ritsu finally says, looking away from Mao and pouting, as if he was offended.

He hears Mao's soft laugh, and while he enjoys the sound of it, it only makes things worse.

“Sorry, sorry~” The red haired boy apologizes, mind you, in the most insincere way that Ritsu has ever heard. “I didn't think that anyone would come to that conclusion.” 

Ritsu still doesn't look pleased with the reply he has received.

“You don't believe in vampires either?” He asks, still sounding offended as he looks at Mao giving a bite to the sandwich he has decided to get for dinner. He wants to tell him that eating while standing up isn't healthy, but after the unnecessary worry he has made Ritsu go through, he decides to stay quiet. 

A childish and meaningless way of payback.

Mao hums as he eats another chunk, swallowing before he starts talking again.

“It's not really that I don't believe in them?” His reply makes Ritsu raise an eyebrow, intrigued, but Mao seems more interested in finishing his food than in giving a proper answer. “There have been cases of villagers being attacked by vampires… apparently.” He adds the last word as if he really didn't believe the tales of people encountering vampires.

Which is ironic considering that Mao is talking to one.

“Either way,” Mao stretches his body once he's done with his food, his arms and back mostly, as it looks like he still feels that they got sore after spending most of the day in the same position. “I'm beat, though I don't really feel I advanced at all, even after working all day…” He sighs looking rather upset, and Ritsu isn't too sure if it's okay to ask what is he working on.

No matter what does Mao answer, Ritsu is sure he won't be able to understand all his crazy magic talk.

He follows Mao with his eyes, thinking that after saying that he's probably going to rest in bed, but much to his surprise, Mao moves in direction to one of the couches, lying down in one of them and closing his eyes.

Ritsu doesn't like the way things are turning.

“Maa-kun.” He calls, firmly, still not moving from the place he was standing in as that's enough distance to let him talk with Mao, to let him see Mao properly.

Mao doesn't really reply, he only hums to show Ritsu that he has heard him, but that's all.

“There's no way you are sleeping there, right?” He sounds way angrier than he intended, but he can't help it, something inside him is burning with rage when he considers the possibility of Mao wanting to avoid him.

“Thanks to someone taking over my bed I have no other choice.” Mao answers, more honestly than Ritsu would have wanted. He doesn't seem angry or upset, and Ritsu understands that Mao is just being a good host, but this doesn't mean that Ritsu likes how things are happening.  _ This doesn't feel right _ .

“We can share the bed… just like we did tonight…” Ritsu isn't saying this because the couch looks uncomfortable to sleep in, truth is that he didn't even think about that as he hasn't tried to actually sleep on it. And being Ritsu, he's sure that he would still find it comfortable, anything and anywhere is a nice place to take a nap in if you are sleepy enough.

He just wants to spend time with Maa-kun, for his face to be the last thing he sees before falling asleep and for his face to be the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes.

That's just normal when you are in love, right?

“Just when did you exactly turn into a human…” Mao never thought he would ever ask a question like that, but the current situation is really making him reconsider his compass for weird stuff. He opens his eyes to look at Ritsu, still standing, with a displeased expression on his face. “It's alright. You need a proper place to rest, to heal.” Mao seems to try to reassure him, but it has the contrary effect.

Ritsu starts walking, angrily, stomping in an incredibly noisy way.

He stands in front of the couch, looking directly at Mao.

“If Maa-kun isn't using the bed there's no point for me to use it.” And just as he stops talking, in a motion so fast that Mao can't even see it, Ritsu throws himself on top of Mao, to sleep with him on the couch.

“Wai-- what!?” The red haired boy yelps surprised, so surprised that his first reaction is to move away.

The couch isn't big. It wasn't made to fit two people if they want to sleep on it, it could barely fit one people, so of course when Mao moves away, he falls to the floor.

Ritsu, who was trying to hold onto him, falls with him as well.

And Mao really has no idea how they have ended up like this.

He's on his hands and knees, supporting his weight after the fall, his face in an incredibly close distance to Ritsu's who has somehow ended between his legs and arms, completely unable to escape --Ritsu doesn't look like he wants to complain about that though.

They look at each other into the eyes for a brief moment and it's now when Mao notices just how beautiful they are, Ritsu's eyes, even in the darkness are shining. Red, in the middle of the night, shining bright and almost unnaturally. It's mysterious, and the more Mao stares the more Mao notices just how inhuman they look --which he doesn't think it's too weird since just yesterday this young man was a small bat.

Mao would feel scared if it weren't because he's stunned at how beautiful the view is.

That's until Ritsu lowers his gaze, making Mao feel that he has woken up from some kind of dream.

Ritsu is the first one who reacts at their situation, trying to get away but realizing that as long as Mao stays on top of him he can't move.

“Maa-kun…” He calls softly, really trying to not look at Mao because this kind of position, while not unpleasant, is making him have a hard time suppressing some urges. 

He's glad that he's the one who can't move, because he's completely sure that if it had been the other way, he wouldn't let Mao go away.

Mao finally seems to realize the position they are in once he hears his name being called, and his first instinct is to get away from Ritsu as fast as possible, sitting in front of him on the floor but leaving enough space so Ritsu can stand up properly.

“Sorry… I didn't want to…” He doesn't really know what to say, so he decides to leave it like that. In the first place this wouldn't have happened if Ritsu hadn't tried to sleep with Mao.

“It's alright.” Ritsu replies, sitting up as well and trying to fix the way the blanket covers him as it's now in disarray. “If it's Maa-kun the one who does it… It's alright.” He adds, and Mao notices that his voice comes out softer than usual, he can see that Ritsu is avoiding looking at him, that he's holding the blanket with his hand placed on his chest.

“What the hell are you saying.” Mao speaks as the words come into his mind, bluntly, not even considering how they might sound to Ritsu.

The reply he gets is a glare. For a single second Ritsu's expression feels like daggers that stab him, deep until they reach his very inside, even his soul.

It almost makes him want to run away, but soon after Ritsu's expression softens, sighing and looking away.

“Maa-kun has no consideration for my feelings…” He pouts, really trying his best to seem as upset as he can.

Mao can see through it though. Or at least he thinks he can see through it.

“You were just messing with me.” He states, standing up when he feels that being on the floor isn't exactly comfortable. “Again.” He adds, remembering that everything Ritsu has been doing today was just trying to mess with him in some way or another.

Ritsu too decides to stand up, so he can talk properly with Mao, looking into his eyes. Maybe that way he will finally start taking him seriously.

“I wasn't messing with you.” He tries for his voice to sound firm, but not angry as that could upset Mao and right now that would only cause even more trouble. “At least not all the time.” He admits, smirking a little as, if he has to be honest, right now he really was trying to see just how would Mao react.

It's not his fault though. It's just that Maa-kun's reactions are too entertaining, too amusing to watch.

“Not all the time?” Mao asks, suspicious, still not sure if he should believe Ritsu's words.

“Maa-kun is just too dense…” Ritsu shakes his head. “Even if I already told you…” He's sure, even if he told Mao again that he loves him, Mao would just believe that once again he's messing with him.

Mao looks at him not really understanding what is he talking about, which doesn't really surprise Ritsu.

“But Maa-kun wanted to sleep, right~?” Ritsu tries to change the topic. He does understand that Mao won't fall for him just in one day. For Mao, he's just a bat that turned into a human a few hours ago. Mao doesn't understand that Ritsu fell for him long ago. “Let's go to bed~” but of course that doesn't mean that he will give up easily. They already shared the bed this morning, doing it once again shouldn't be weird.

Mao doesn't seem too pleased with the idea though, his face showing an ugly frown.

“It will be cramped.” He warns, almost as if he was trying to find an excuse to avoid for them to sleep together. “Your wounds aren't healed, you need proper rest.” He adds, and Ritsu notices that there is concern in his voice.

Maybe Mao is really worried about his well-being, rather than in him wanting or not wanting to sleep with Ritsu.

When he realizes that, the whole situation takes a change, he's sure that now he will really be able to get away with whatever he wants.

“I don't mind.” Ritsu says, stepping closer to Mao, until he's resting his head on his shoulder, with nothing but Mao's clothes and Ritsu's blanket getting on the way of their bodies. “The night is cold, and Maa-kun is warm.” He whispers, closing his eyes and letting the warmth of Mao's body warm him.

Mao keeps his arms open, away from Ritsu as he has no idea what to do. He has the feeling that his current position isn't the correct thing to do, but he isn't sure if he should return the hug.

In the first place, Ritsu isn't really hugging him, he's just leaning his head against his shoulder, so even if all he does is stand there, without doing anything, it should be alright.

“Let's go to bed.” Ritsu requests once again, and he wonders if it's because he has gotten used to Mao's scent or because his warmth is enough to calm him right now, but he doesn't feel the aching pain in his fangs, he doesn't feel that right now he needs anything else other than Mao's warmth.

Mao nods, slowly, and even if he has his eyes closed, Ritsu can feel it.

“Does that mean we will share the bed?” Ritsu whispers, with child-like emotion poorly hidden in his words.

“I have one condition.” Mao says, giving up at trying to convince Ritsu that they shouldn't be sleeping together. He can hear Ritsu groan displeased and he has to bite his tongue from telling Ritsu that he still hasn't hear what's the condition. “You have to wear clothes.” He declares, firmly, making sure that Ritsu understands that's something he won't negotiate.

Ritsu laughs softly, not too surprised about the request. And he too doesn't dislike it too much. The blanket might do the trick for a while, but he really has started to feel cold from being naked all day.

“Only if you dress me up~” Still, Ritsu doesn't miss the chance to make sure he will be able to tease Mao one last time. And this time Mao is the one who groans. He doesn't say anything against it though, so Ritsu considers that this is a victory.

“Let's sleep.” Mao says finally, feeling that if he doesn't tell Ritsu to move, to go to bed, he will fall asleep just like this, leaning on Mao.

Even so, he still doesn't move away, instead he waits until Ritsu decides to put some distance between them after hearing his words.

For a second, when he looks at Ritsu, he has the feeling that he understands exactly what does he want, why he was trying to be with him even during sleep, almost as if they didn't need to speak to understand each other.

_ Please don't leave me alone tonight. _

  
Though Mao really wonders, if that's Ritsu's wish or his own wish.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those who follow me on twitter know just how much I have struggled with this chapter. Even after deciding to leave some scenes for the next chapter, this chapter turned out to be over 5k words.  
> Why am I like this.
> 
> Anyway, I hope it makes up for the delay, and that you are able to enjoy the story ;w;

Ritsu really wonders just how long it will take for Mao to fall in love with him.

He has stayed with Mao for over a week already --maybe even more as time isn't something that Ritsu really understands,-- and his wounds are almost completely healed.

Mao has shown surprise about that, and relief, Ritsu can see the expression on his face soften whenever he says that there's no danger for Ritsu anymore, that his wounds won't cause him any trouble anymore.

But Ritsu can't feel the same. He knows that as soon as he's fully healed he won't have any reason to stay here, to stay by Mao's side.

He's sure that Mao, being as kind as he is, won't kick him out, but Ritsu knows that he will become an inconvenience if he stays against Mao's will.

That's why he has to make sure that Mao falls in love with him, or at least, accept him as familiar.

Both of them sound like a difficult task to achieve though.

Ritsu still doesn't understand why he still hasn't become Mao's familiar. He has heard it, he has even seen it in the past, magicians that keep all kinds of creatures as helpers. He has even heard, from that person that dares to call himself his brother, that nowadays there's a magician that can't be much older than Mao managing to make a phoenix obey their orders, making a familiar contract with it.

He never paid attention to those stories, --something that he now regrets,-- but if his memory serves him right, he remembers hearing that a kiss is required for a contract, as well as blood and magic.

Those are three things that Ritsu already got from Mao.

In the dim light of the night that illuminates the room, Ritsu looks at Mao, currently sleeping next to him and he can't avoid the smile that appears on his face.

He's still surprised at how easily Mao got used to his presence, managing to sleep peacefully next to him, looking like there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

If only he knew that Ritsu is a blood-sucking monster, that even now he's having a hard time to not jump directly onto him and dig his teeth on his neck, his soft and delicate neck, if only Mao knew that, he's sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully like this, Ritsu wouldn't even be able to stay close to him.

For as long as he can, Ritsu is going to keep the current peace.

A bat that turned into a human.

That's what he is for Mao, and that's what he is now.

Before he can even realize, his hand is on Mao's hair, playing with the tugs of the hair that not so long ago used to be his favourite resting place. Now, being too big to rest there, he has to settle with the bed.

He can't really complain though, as being next to Mao is something that he will never dislike.

“I would prefer to be between your arms though~” he thinks out loud, trying to keep his voice low to make sure that Mao won't wake up.

The movement of Ritsu's hand on Mao's hair is gentle. He doesn't want to wake him, and he doesn't expect for Mao to even notice that he's playing with his hair. It's simply that he can't stand the thought of being completely alone during the night.

Being a vampire, a nocturnal creature, he can't avoid being awake during the night, but Mao is different, and he understands that humans need sleep during the night.

It's not something he likes, but he has no other choice but to accept it.

He's thankful for the darkness that the night brings, the annoying sun hides and Ritsu can finally start feeling like himself. But that means that Mao sleeps, that the whole world, the human world he lives in now, becomes completely silent.

He hates that, and yet, as soon as he puts his hand on Mao's hair, feeling the soft touch brushing his skin, tickling a little, he starts feeling safe.

And it's when he notices just how safe he feels with this human, that he realizes that just like Mao has gotten used to him, he too has gotten used to Mao way too fast.

His hand travels a little down, from Mao's hair to his shoulder, his arm and finally he holds his hand, still trying to keep his movements as light as possible to make sure that Mao won't notice him.

It's not like he can do any rough movement, even with his wounds almost healed, his body still feels weak. 

He knows the reason, a lack of nutrients, of blood, but he has to endure it.

Ritsu didn't lie when he said that he doesn't remember how he got injured.

He remembers that one day, when he opened his eyes, he was in an unknown place, with an unknown person, and he felt so weak that he couldn't maintain a human form.

Instead he appeared to be a bat, something simple to be transformed in, it barely needs effort to keep the disguise, and as soon as he tried to move he understood just how bad the situation was.

He also remembers, the warm smile that Mao showed him, full of relief when he showed signs of being alive.

_ “You made it… I'm so glad.” _

Even now, just remembering those words warms up his heart. --Which is an amazing achievement, considering that Ritsu's heart is just a disguise to make sure that he fits with humans, it doesn't have any function at keeping him alive.

Though the first time he heard those words, he didn't have the positive feelings he has now.

Being in an unknown place, with a person he had never seen before and finding that his body was completely injured without remembering how he got those wounds, his first impression was that Mao was the one at fault.

Unable to change to his main appearance, Ritsu decided to show as much hostility as possible, trying to get away from Mao, hiding, and if Mao grabbed him, he would bite his hand.

That resulted on Ritsu drinking Mao's blood in small quantities once in a while, which probably helped him heal faster, but if he had knows the effects that it would carry he wouldn't have done it.

He has somewhat learnt to deal with his thirst, there have been times in the past in which he has had to endure even worse situations, a thirst even more unbearable than this. But, if he had known that the bite marks would stay on the hand that he's holding now, if he had known it would take so long to heal...

Ritsu laces his fingers with Mao's, a soft groan leaving the red-haired boy's lips and for a second Ritsu is scared that he might have woken him up.

Much to his relief, Mao still sleeps and much to his surprise, he has closed his grip around Ritsu's hand, holding it with their fingers laced with each other.

Ritsu smiles once again and he has to fight the urge to bring Mao's hand close to his lips and kiss it, already knowing that having his skin close to his lips is dangerous, even if he can keep his bloodthirst under control it's better to avoid any kind of temptation.

“Ritsu…?” The boy's voice calls for his name and for a second Ritsu wonders if he's sleep talking, but in the dim light of the room, he can see that Mao's eyes are slightly open.

He blinks, once, twice, thrice, until he is awake enough to recognise his surroundings and the first thing he sees is a pair of blood-red eyes, staring directly at him.

Mao can't avoid flinching, almost shaking Ritsu's hand away because even if he thought that he was getting used to Ritsu's unnatural eyes, it's in moments like these, when he isn't ready for the impact, that he feels like he has become some kind of prey that Ritsu is just playing with before devouring it.

The vampire notices it immediately, even before Mao had put some distance between them, the fear that he's feeling.

He looks away immediately, cursing how abnormal his eyes are, the only thing that makes his human disguise imperfect. But at least if he isn't looking directly at Mao he might not feel so scared.

Maybe if he closes his eyes as well… at least until Mao falls asleep again, after that he can continue observing him.

“Ritsu you are…” Mao still doesn't get closer to Ritsu, his voice shaking a little as he speaks and for a second Ritsu has the feeling that he's holding himself back from saying something. “...Awake.” He says finally, his body seemingly relaxing when he says that.

Ritsu is sure that he didn't want to say that though.

“I slept all day.” The vampire reminds him, as an explanation of why he can't sleep during the night, which only makes Mao sigh in response.

“That's why you should stay awake during the day…” He scolds him, a small yawn leaving his mouth as he speaks and he finally moves closer to Ritsu, almost as close as before.

He notices that even if Mao had tried to shake away his hand just a few moments ago, now he's holding it back, tightly, the warmth of his skin meeting Ritsu's cold one and Ritsu wonders if Mao is sharing his body-heat with some kind of magic trick, because he can't find any other explanation to why his body feels so warm just by touching his hand.

“Sorry… That was rude…” Mao apologizes, and Ritsu can notice that even if his voice sounds sleepier, his eyes are open, as if he couldn't sleep without saying those words, without being forgiven by Ritsu.

“It's alright…” He's still looking down, away from Mao, making sure that his eyes won't make him feel scared again.

But he ends up looking up and his gaze meets Mao's when he feels the human's hand on his cheek.

His left hand is holding Ritsu's, his right hand is gently,  _ gently _ brushing his cheek and under his fingertips, Mao can notice just how cold his skin is.

“You are cold…” Mao complains, his eyes not looking away from Ritsu's and it really feels like it's tearing him apart, but he tries to convince himself.

Ritsu is Ritsu, nothing else. If he's a human, bat or anything else, it doesn't matter.

“And you are warm.” Ritsu says back at him, and now he's completely convinced that he must be using magic. Every part of his skin that is meeting Mao's touch burns, it feels like the sun itself hitting mercilessly, painful and burning.

And yet, instead of wanting for it to end, Ritsu wishes he could embrace Mao, hold him between his arms and feel that warmth all over his body. 

“You aren't dangerous.” He says firmly, still trying to look directly into Ritsu's eyes, even if his whole being screams that he should run away. “Right?” Maybe that's why he had to add that interrogant at the end, because even if logic says that if Ritsu wanted to hurt him he would have done it long ago, it's difficult to believe it when he feels that he's looking into the eyes of a predator.

Ritsu knows the answer, and he knows that he can't lie to Mao.

He  _ is  _ dangerous, for humans, for any being weaker than him, --which is almost any creature.

“Not for you.” He replies, trying to smile and hoping that it will make Mao feel at more ease, placing his free hand on top of Mao's and closing his eyes.

“Not for me?” Mao repeats, a hint of nervousness showing on his voice and Ritsu can't say that he's surprised about it. “What kind of answer is that?” He adds, and this time his voice sounds softer, a small chuckle following his words. That sound is enough to make Ritsu feel a little relieved, knowing that Mao isn't scared of him.

No one who felt scared would be able to laugh like that, wouldn't be able to close his eyes and smile like that.

It makes him feel a little bad, that he still hasn't told Mao about his true self, but the fear of losing the sight of that smile is still inside him.

If Mao were to abandon and toss him aside…

He isn't too sure if he can live without his warmth anymore.

“Is it uncomfortable?” Mao asks suddenly, eyes still closed and interrupting Ritsu's thoughts. “You are still holding my hand… my hands…” He continues, and Ritsu has a hard time paying attention to his words because the way he's speaking, so slowly and quietly, sleepily and with a yawn interrupting in the middle of the sentence, makes Ritsu want to enjoy the sight of just how cute this human can be.

“I'm alright…” Ritsu answers, keeping his voice in a soft whisper, feeling scared that if he raises his voice too much Mao will end up feeling awake, that the magic of this moment will disappear. “But if you don't like it… I can let go.” He adds the last part a tiny little bit quieter, maybe in hopes that Mao won't hear it, that he won't tell Ritsu to let go.

Mao shakes his head in response, or maybe he was just nuzzling his head against the pillow, Ritsu doesn't know.

“It's…” Mao's mind can't think properly anymore, too drowsy, almost already asleep, and the only thing in his mind is that he doesn't remember when was the last time someone held him so dearly. “Calming…” 

Ritsu isn't sure if he heard that last word or if he imagined it, but the smile that Mao has on his face, the smile that he keeps for the rest of the night even during his dreams, is something that he would be able to keep watching forever. When Mao opens his eyes, he sees that Ritsu is still holding both of his hands and that he has managed to fall asleep at some point as well.

Seeing it during the light of the day, it sure is embarrassing to hold hands with him, specially when he remembers that they spent almost all the night like this.

He manages to get rid of the grip on his right hand easily, the one that was touching Ritsu's cheek, but when he tries to get rid of the grip around his other hand it turns out to be an impossible task. 

Ritsu groans a complain about it, when Mao tries to get away from his grip, and ends up rolling in bed, pulling Mao along, closer to him.

“Wai- Ritsu, Ritsu, you are too close!” Mao complains, loudly and putting some space between them again.

His voice sounds so loud that Ritsu finally wakes up, letting go of his hand as he rubs his eyes.

“So noisy… it's still early…” The vampire says, sinking deeper into the blankets of the bed, covering almost his whole face.

“It's not early, it's time to wake up.” Mao scolds him, getting out from bed and trying to yank the blanket away from Ritsu, hoping that something like that will wake him up.

Unfortunately for him, Ritsu is holding the blanket close to him with almost all the strength he has, making it impossible for Mao to take it away.

It's an unfair fight and Ritsu knows, there's no way a human can match a vampire’s strength, even if he's in a poor state.

“If you don't get out from bed by yourself I will have to take you out by force.” Mao threatens, finally letting go of the blanket.

That sentence seems to bring some interest into Ritsu.

“You are going to force me?” Mao can hear that his voice sounds mocking instead of sleepy, he can see that Ritsu is staring at him, a smile on his face and his eyes once again look like those of a beast.

He might be getting used to them, or maybe it's because now there's some distance between them, he would be able to run away. But he isn't precisely scared anymore.

A challenge has been issued, that's what he feels. Ritsu is clearly mocking him, believing that there's no way a simple human like him, who only knows a few tricks can win against him.

“If I do manage to get you out, you can't complain, you can't go back to bed.” Mao says firmly, a rule established by himself for this duel that probably already has a winner since the beginning.

“If you manage~” Ritsu agrees, obviously intending to go back to sleep.

No one can blame Ritsu from being sure that Mao can't win against him, especially after he has shown that he can't match his strength, not being able to even take the blanket away from him or get rid of the way Ritsu was holding his hand.

Ritsu is sure that there isn't any human on earth that can match his strength. Even if he's injured, he could easily win against every human in this town even if they united forces to attack him.

And yet, before he realizes it, he's flying.

No, flying isn't the correct term. He can see the bed under him, but it's not against his body, there's a notable distance separating them.

He's floating, along with the blanket.

“What…?” He asks, trying to look around, not understanding what this phenomenon might be, why is he the only one mid-air, completely frozen and unable to move.

When he finally stops floating, his feet are touching the floor. He has been moved there carefully, slowly, against his will.

“You are finally out from bed~” Mao says cheerfully, his hands on his hips. “You can keep the blanket if you want, but let's have breakfast.”

“Magic…?” Ritsu asks, understanding more or less what has happened, but still confused. He has seen Mao use a few tricks here and there, to light a fire, to warm up the food, to make light during the night, to flip the pages of books by themselves…

“A trick~” Mao corrects him.

But this kind of thing can't be called a simple trick. Even if Ritsu can't use magic, he understands the complexity behind it, he has heard Mao complain about it.

Lifting a person, in a closed space, without disturbing anything else and carefully make them stand, changing their position without them even noticing.

Mao has done something incredible.

“You probably thought that someone like me who couldn't even take the blanket away from you didn't have a chance to force you out, right?” Ritsu's thoughts get interrupted by Mao's voice. “Don't underestimate me, you insolent bat~” His voice doesn't sound angry at all, he isn't trying to show off. He's talking cheerfully, with a smile as bright as the sun on his face. 

Ritsu has an obvious pout on his face, not liking that he lost this challenge. Not liking that Mao is right, he did underestimate him.

“I will use the same trick to get you out from bed tomorrow.” Mao adds, and that really hits Ritsu's nerve.

“Aren't you the one underestimating me now?” He asks, eyeing at the bed that he will have to say goodbye for the rest of the morning. Even if he hates it, he did promise he wouldn't complain.

Mao shakes his head.

“I have thought over ten plans to get you out from bed.” He says full of confidence. “I'm not sure if all of them will work, and precisely because I'm not underestimating you I'm ready for any counter attack.” He adds, the smile still not leaving his face, before he finally decides to head to the kitchen.

Ritsu doesn't understand it yet.

He should be angry, Ritsu isn't precisely good at accepting defeat, mostly because it's something he has rarely experienced.

He's used to win against anything or anyone he finds, even in the smallest game.

But Mao shattered all his expectations and won easily, with something that he calls a simple trick.

And the most surprising thing is that rather than angry or upset, Ritsu is feeling fascinated by it.

“Maa-kun.” He calls as he follows the human to the kitchen, holding the blanket close to him to keep him warm even outside bed. “Can you use magic?” He asks, a weird question considering everything he has seen until now. “Not a trick. Magic. Can you?” He adds, thinking that an explanation might be need.

Mao turns around, a frown on his face as it looks like he doesn't like the question.

He observes Ritsu, as if he was trying to see through him.

“I can.” He ends up saying, still not taking his eyes away from Ritsu, which only makes the vampire flinch, feeling that he's trying to hide something.

He knows it well, he too is hiding something from Mao after all.

“But don't make me do it unless it's an emergency, it's exhausting.” Mao adds, a smile appearing on his face as he speaks.

A forced one. Ritsu can see it, even if he hasn't spent an excessive amount of time with him, he already knows Mao well enough to see through his expressions, to know when he's trying to hide something, when is he in pain.

After staring at Mao for an amount of time that was starting to make the red haired boy feel uncomfortable, Ritsu's reply is a hum.

That hum didn't mean he was letting the topic go, didn't mean he was content with the answer he received.

It just means that he acknowledges that he can't force Mao to talk more about it yet.

Still, he isn't happy about it, so he decides to turn his back at Mao, start walking in direction to one of the couches, ignoring that Mao is preparing breakfast for both of them.

“Where are you going?” Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough for him to evade Mao's attention, being caught in the middle of his escape.

“I'm going to sleep a little more~” Ritsu's answer doesn't show any hint of shame, even if he knows he is planning on doing something that will only make Mao frown.

“We made a deal.” Mao says firmly and as Ritsu predicted, there's a frown in his face which makes the vampire smile because even when he's as predictable as now, Maa-kun is still cute. “I got you out from bed, you can't go to sleep.”

“Fufufu, you said I would have to stay out from bed.” Ritsu replies back, finally reaching the couch and almost jumping to it, letting his body rest on it and already getting ready to sleep again. “You didn't mention anything about not being able to go back to sleep~”

“I thought it was obvious that I meant you had to stay awake.” Mao retorts and Ritsu find himself being incredibly amused at how frustrated Mao sounds.

“You didn't say anything like that, so I'm not breaking the rules~” Ritsu makes himself comfortable on the couch, wrapping himself properly with the blankets. It's not as comfortable as the bed, specially because it's so small that he feels that if he moves a little, if he turns around, he will fall and hit his face against the floor. “I'm still recovering… my wounds haven't healed yet…” He mumbles, hoping that even if he doesn't raise his voice Mao will manage to hear him. “Maa-kun is so mean, not letting an injured person get the rest that he deserves…”

“Your wounds don't seem to be that bad anymore.” Mao speaks back, the noise of the movements he makes while preparing breakfast making it difficult for Ritsu to hear his words properly. “I made sure to check your whole body thoroughly.”

Oh no.

As soon as he says that Mao  _ knows  _ that he has said something he shouldn't.

“Oh?” Just by the small sound that Ritsu makes, by the way he hears his body move, crawling on the couch so he can stare at Mao without getting out from it, the young man already knows.

He has just made a mistake that he can't fix.

“Maa-kun checked my body  _ thoroughly _ ?” The vampire asks, with an obvious amused grin on his smile, not even bothering to hide how much he plans on teasing Mao about it. “I didn't know Maa-kun was looking at me with those lascivious eyes… How scary… isn't that sexual harassment?” 

“It's not!” Mao seems to have had enough with Ritsu's teasing, he finishes preparing breakfast in a rush, leaving two cups of coffee on the small table in front of the couch, so hurried that some of the warm drink inside gets spilled. Ritsu doesn't notice that until later though as he was busy paying attention at how red Mao's face looks right now.

He actually gets surprised about this, because it means he must not be too off the mark.

After all, if Mao had never thought about that kind of thing, he wouldn't be feeling so embarrassed now, he would shrug it off.

“Besides if we are talking about sexual harassment, you are guilty of it too.” Mao grabs his cup of coffee, sitting on the sofa and forcing Ritsu to curl so he can leave some space for him.

“So you accept your crime?” Ritsu asks teasingly, trying to put his legs on Mao's lap but failing as he pushes them away, making the vampire pout.

“I don't.” Mao says firmly. “I was just checking your wounds, treating them so you can heal faster.” 

“That's what you say… But the first time I turned into human, your eyes wouldn't stay away from me.” The teasing tone is back, the pout gone and being replaced with a grin that is obviously trying to get into Mao's nerves.

“That's because when I picked you, you were a bat and suddenly one morning you were a human. And you were naked.” He glares at Ritsu, not wanting to admit that he really did feel some kind of interest, that he didn't think the sight was unpleasant. If he ever says that he's sure he will die, He better die rather than deal with the teasing that Ritsu would make him suffer. “And then you…” Mao takes a drink from the coffee, not wanting to say it out loud, not wanting to remember their first encounter.

“I kissed you…” Ritsu yawns, ignoring completely how Mao must feel about that. He notices that Mao is trying to keep his eyes away from him, looking at the cup on his hands. “Did you hate it?” He decides to ask, this time leaving all the teasing aside and realizing that from Mao's point of view, it might have been an unpleasant experience.

He sees that Mao's fingers tap the cup nervously, still not looking away, his face still slightly red but right now he isn't too sure if it's because of embarrassment or because of the warmth that the drink has given him.

“I didn't...  _ hate _ it…” He says the words slowly, still tapping the cup, still looking away and Ritsu notices that at some point he has started to hold his breath, making sure there won't be any sound, not even his own breathing, getting on the way of Mao's voice. “It was unexpected…” He adds finally, a murmur, almost barely audible and then once again he takes a drink from his cup.

Ritsu hums when he hears those words, not too sure if he understands what Mao means, he knows he didn't hate it, but that doesn't mean he liked it either.

Before he can start thinking deeply about it, Mao finally looks at him, for a second Ritsu sees that he's biting his lip, probably nervous and not knowing how to continue talking about the topic.

But he still tries.

“You said that the reason you did that was...,”  _ because you love me  _ his mind speaks, but the words won't come out of his mouth, his cheeks already feeling that they are burning just thinking about that, the rational and logic part of his mind telling him that  _ it was just a joke _ . “Because you wanted to be my familiar.” He ends up saying, part of him cursing how much of a coward he's being with the direction that he has chosen for this conversation.

“I still want to be your familiar.” Ritsu corrects him, the way he speaks turning serious, something that Mao has rarely seen happen.

“Magic, blood and a kiss.” Mao enumerates, placing the now empty cup on the table and looking at the small wound that is still on his hand, in the place where Ritsu bit him. “Or at least, that's what most rumors say.” He adds with a sigh, looking at Ritsu as he rubs the small wound.

“It's not true?” Ritsu asks surprised, a hint of worry showing on his voice and his eyes opening as he finally decides to move, stop lying down and instead sitting down.

“I have tried to find information…”  _ tried  _ is the clue word, because all his attempts until now have proven to be completely useless.

He shouldn't feel so dejected about it, it's barely been over a week, he has had tasks that made him work for months, something like this is obviously going to take long. But unlike any other occasion, this time he really feels that he's completely lost.

“There isn't anything.” He finally admits, and with the way Ritsu's mouth opens for a second, the way his expression completely changes, showing a face as disheartened as Mao himself feels, he regrets being so honest. “Familiars aren't as common as everyone makes it sound.” He starts explaining and he himself notices just how desperate he's starting to sound, trying to comfort Ritsu. “Magicians are becoming less and less common, so of course…” He doesn't even want to think about it, and even less say it out loud, but if magicians are rare, that means that familiars are almost nonexistent. “Without magicians, all the information about familiars is getting lost, there isn't anyone to keep that knowledge...” 

Ritsu hates hearing that.

But that doesn't mean that he's grateful when Mao stops talking, because it only means that he has given up.

He has seen it in the past, he has heard so many rumors, about magicians who keep any kind of creature by their side, sharing their lives, a bond so strong that can't be explained with words.

At first he had said it on a whim, but every day he spends with Mao only makes him think that he doesn't want to part ways with him.

Every day he spends with Mao only makes him fall even deeper for him.

“I know someone.” Mao says suddenly, breaking the silence and making Ritsu breathe again, even if the vampire hadn't noticed that he was holding his breath until now. 

“A magician…?” Ritsu asks carefully, not wanting to get his hopes up.

Mao nods, showing a small smile on his face as if trying to comfort Ritsu.

“I don't want to owe him anything but…” he sighs, scratching the back of his head as if he was giving a second thought to it. “If you become my familiar you will be stuck with me forever.” He suddenly changes the subject, his voice sounding even more serious than before.

Ritsu is sure that even if it's supposed to be just a disguise, his heartbeat has increased.

“Maa-kun, is that a proposal?” He asks, and he blames the erratic way his heart is beating because even if he wanted for it to sound like a joke, like he's just teasing Mao like he always does, his words have sounded far too sincere.

“It's not.” Mao shuts him down, but unlike Ritsu was expecting, his voice sounds soft, so soft that it brings a smile to Ritsu's face.

“How unfortunate, Maa-kun doesn't want to marry me yet.” The vampire yawns as he complains those words, deciding to lie down on the couch once again, ready to take that nap that Mao has interrupted with this talk.

This time he decides to put his head on Mao's lap though, a punishment for interrupting his sleep, for making him worry.

“Ritsu, if you sleep on me I won't be able to work.” Mao complains, but once again his voice sounds soft and before Ritsu closes his eyes, he believes that he has seen a smile on the human’s face.

“It's okay.” Ritsu mumbles, making himself comfortable, feeling the warmth that Mao's body is giving him and he gets confirmed once again that he doesn't ever want to let go of this warmth. “Once in a while, Maa-kun should rest as well…” He adds, his hand finding Mao's, holding it, lacing his fingers.

“Even if I prepared coffee for you…” Mao continues complaining, but he doesn't make any effort to shake off Ritsu's hand, he doesn't make any effort to move away and leave Ritsu sleeping.

  
He agrees that maybe once in a while, this kind of thing isn't bad either, starting tomorrow he can go back to working hard and try making Ritsu stay awake for a whole day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A certain magician just keeps being mentioned huh... I wonde who is he...
> 
> As always, thank you for reading! If possible any kind of comment is always welcome, in the end I would like to know what do the readers think about the story...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late update!  
> As you can see, this fic isn't dead and neither am I!
> 
> Finally, with this chapter the plot starts moving, I'm not really sure if I will be able to update often so please bear with me for a while.
> 
> I hope that if you are still reading this story, you manage to enjoy it.

Almost unexpectedly, the morning duel that Mao started on a whim to get Ritsu out of bed has become a routine. 

Ritsu doesn't really seem to like it, complaining every time he has the chance as he still hasn't managed to win any of the duels, always being dragged away from bed against his will.

He has really no reason to stay awake during the day. Mao is way too busy taking care of boring magic studies or any kind of matter to help those in trouble. Now that Ritsu’s wounds are healed there's no need to constantly keep an eye on him, as he won't faint or suffer of any kind of pain.

Ritsu has tried to pretend to be still hurt, but unfortunately, Mao really doesn't fall for those tricks.

That's why he has no reason to stay awake, if Mao won't pay attention to him he prefers to sleep.

“Maa-kun~” Ritsu whines, holding the cup of coffee that Mao has so dearly -or at least he wants to pretend it has been dearly- prepared for breakfast between his hands. 

The cup is warm against his hands, something he's grateful about as winter is approaching and the weather is becoming colder.

Ritsu doesn't really hate winter. Actually he might even like it, as it gives him an excuse to cover himself with blankets and stay in bed.

Now that he is with Mao, he has the feeling that he won't be allowed to do that, as Mao really seems to intend to wake him every morning.

But at least, during the night, using the cold temperature as excuse maybe Ritsu will find the chance to finally,  _ finally  _ sleep while cuddling with Mao, holding him between his arms, sharing each other warmth…

Not like Ritsu is too warm, but just thinking about spending the whole night in the same bed as Mao while holding him close...

“You were too rough…” He continues whining, trying to not let himself think too much about things he could do with Maa-kun in a bed. He sits down on the only chair in Mao’s kitchen and groans when the blanket that cover his body falls a little down his shoulders. He doesn't bother fixing it though, thinking that it’s too much of a pain in the ass.

“If you had gotten out from bed when I told you I wouldn't have been rough.” Mao sighs, taking a sip from the cup and already feeling tired even if he has just woken up. It seems that Ritsu is starting to get used to his magic tricks and schemes to force him out of bed, which means that Mao has to put even more effort into it, ending up with him feeling exhausted as soon as the day starts.

“Maa-kun sounds tired~” Ritsu observes, teasing Mao, being fully aware that he's the reason Mao is already so tired, which makes him receive an angry glare like a knife as a reaction from Mao. “That's why Maa-kun shouldn't take me out from bed~” Ritsu decides to ignore Mao’s anger. There's no way a simple human would be able to scare him. “I would be able to rest peacefully and you wouldn't feel tired so early in the morning~”

“I don't want you to become one with my bed.” Mao looks at the inside of his cup, now almost empty and he considers the option of preparing a second one. Maybe that will help him stay awake for the rest of the morning. “You didn't drink it… Again…” He says, looking at the still full cup that Ritsu is holding between his hands.

“It's bitter.” Ritsu answers, shrugging his shoulders, which proves to be a bad idea as the blanket falls even more. “I like the smell, but not the taste.” He explains, inhaling the scent of the hot drink.

“You could have told me sooner.” Mao’s voice sounds almost scolding as he places the cup on the table, already empty and starts looking through the shelves of the kitchen. “I'm not too sure if there's anything you would like…” Ritsu blinks twice, not understanding the twist of events. Even if he doesn't like coffee, it's not like he has told Mao to prepare anything else for him. 

“It's okay…” He tries to say. Even if he loves seeing that Mao is paying attention to him like this, taking care of him, it doesn't matter what he prepares, since he's a vampire, it won't be able to satisfy Ritsu.

Unless Mao offers himself as Ritsu’s breakfast.

Now that's really something that will definitely satisfy Ritsu.

“I have some fruit, I could try preparing a juice for you…” Mao suggests, apparently not hearing Ritsu telling him that he doesn't have to bother with it. “There's… cookies here. I hope they are still good…” He continues speaking, taking the food from the shelve and placing it on the table in front of Ritsu. “I have some tea too… I think and…” He opens a cupboard, for a second, before closing it with a slam without even opening it all the way. “Nothing here.” He adds immediately.

But Ritsu has managed to see, for that split second, the insides of that cupboard.

“Maa-kun.” Ritsu calls, his voice sounding more serious than it has ever sounded, feeling that everything he has known about Mao, the idea he has gotten in his mind about this kind and young magician might change just in a few seconds. “Those were… bones?” He asks, really hoping that his eyes have deceived him.

Mao freezes for a second. Turning around to look at Ritsu.

“You saw?” He sounds far more surprised than Ritsu would expect. Not scared or angry or menacing and ready to eliminate Ritsu because he has been caught with, apparently, bones inside his kitchen.

Ritsu nods slowly, and when Mao frowns at him, for a second he thinks that his bones are going to end in that cupboard as well.

Mao continues observing him for a while, trying to look into Ritsu’s eyes but for some reason,  ever since that night Ritsu won't look directly at him, avoiding eye contact as much as possible.

For human eyes, it should have been impossible to realise what we're the contents of the cupboard.

Then again, Ritsu supposedly isn't human. 

But Mao doubts a bat can see so well.

That means…

“I guess there's no point in hiding it then.” Mao sighs as he opens the cupboard once again, trying to forget the train of thought he was having right now. “I don't know what kind of thing you were thinking, but those aren't human bones.” He explains, and upon closer inspection Ritsu realises that there aren't only bones. Plants, rocks and all kinds of flasks with different liquids inside. “I guess that for an outsider it does look pretty disturbing…” He tries to hide his nervousness with a small laugh and a troubled smile as he looks at Ritsu. “I never showed this to anyone else…” He adds a little more quietly and for a second Ritsu feels that this must mean something.

He stands up from the chair, leaving the now lukewarm cup on the table and getting closer to where Mao is. To observe the bizarre collection that he has in front of his eyes.

“Maa-kun has some weird hobbies~” Ritsu decides to tease him, wondering if it's okay to touch the objects. 

“It's not a hobby…” Mao takes one of the flasks and Ritsu looks at his movements, how carefully he takes it, scared that he might drop it. “A phoenix’s ashes.” He announces, not taking his eyes away from the flask that indeed contains ashes. Ritsu would have never guessed that they belonged to a mythological creature like that though. 

“You met the phoenix?” Ritsu asks amazed, because even if he has lived for centuries, he has never been able to meet the so very famous phoenix. 

“No way.” Mao answers honestly, almost laughing as if Ritsu had told him a joke. “If I had tried to meet the phoenix to steal its ashes I would have died.” He puts the flask back in its place. “Though now that  _ that guy  _ has stolen it, it might be easier…” 

“Stolen?” Mao’s words don't make sense for Ritsu. He realizes that he barely knows about the outside word as he never got interested by it, but something like a phoenix, a living creature, isn't something that you could simply steal.

“It's a long story, and I don't really know everything that happened.” Mao starts explaining as he wonders which one of the objects in his collection he could show Ritsu next. “But the rumours say that a powerful magician decided to challenge the emperor by stealing the phoenix that his ancestors had captured centuries ago.” As soon as he heard that, Ritsu remembers the story his brother told him, about a magician who had been able to form a familiar contract with a phoenix.

If that story is true, if someone really managed to make a familiar contract with a phoenix, then a contract with a vampire must be incredibly easy. At least compared to something like taming a phoenix. 

“That's what rumours say.” Mao adds, almost sounding angry, or at least displeased.

“You know more?” Ritsu asks, but by the way Mao has spoken before, it sounds like he does know at least one of the parties involved. “Is that magician the one you don't want to owe anything to?” He asks once again, remembering the conversation they had a few days ago, about Mao considering asking for help to a magician he knows.

Mao’s answer is to nod, and almost immediately he takes out another flask, this time with some kind of plant inside of it and Ritsu understands that he won't be able to continue the conversation, Mao has decided to end it like this.

“All these objects seem difficult… impossible to get without risking your life.” Ritsu says, changing the topic and finally paying proper attention to the collection, recognising some of the things, like the mandragora that Mao is showing him now.

“That's why they are so expensive.” The magician answers, deciding that he doesn't want to touch anything else, not wanting to risk the chance to break anything.

“You bought them all?” Ritsu keeps asking questions, surprising himself because it's the first time he actually wants to know more about someone, that he's interested in someone until the point that he wouldn't mind hearing Maa-kun talk for the whole day.

Though he feels that no matter how interested he is, I he got to hear Mao's voice for a whole day, he would still manage to fall asleep, feeling relaxed just by hearing the sound of the voice of the person that is giving him so many new feelings.

“I traded some… But most of them are bought.” He answers, finally closing the cupboard, not realizing himself that he had never kept it open for so long. “The villagers give me free food all the time, and when they don't, I can hunt it myself, so I don't need to spend money on things like that.”

“What are they for?” Ritsu continues making questions, though for this one he has the feeling that he might already know the answer. “You said it's not a hobby, what are they for?” He repeats his question and Mao wonders just why Ritsu seems to be so worked up over this.

“Ingredients… for potions and magic spells.” Mao explains, averting his gaze, not wanting to look at Ritsu. “To help the village…” He adds a little more quietly, and almost immediately he hears Ritsu sight. “What's wrong about it?” The question comes out more aggressive than he intended, obviously not liking the way Ritsu has reacted.

“Maa-kun, all of this, you said it's expensive.” Ritsu points at the now closed cupboard. “Don't you have hobbies? Things that you want for yourself?” He asks, his voice sounding way too annoyed.

Mao seems to still not really understand why is Ritsu asking those questions as he simply hears him out with a confused face.

“You are being too selfless.” Ritsu lectures him, something that Mao doesn't seem to like. “What do you gain from this? What's the point of helping them all? What's the point of sacrificing yourself?”

“I'm not sacrificing myself.” Mao retorts, he doesn't sound angry but it's obvious that he doesn't like this conversation. “As long as everyone can smile... Then that's enough.”

Ritsu doesn't understand it.

Ritsu tries to remember, ever since he has been here, even before turning into a human…

He doesn't have any single memory of Mao smiling from the bottom of his heart. 

He doesn't understand Mao’s need to make others happy.  _ Isn't it better to use everything you have to live comfortably, to make yourself happy?  _ He wants to ask that but the word die on his throat before he can speak them. He knows that's not the best way to ask Mao, he knows him well enough to know that already.

“But Maa-kun, even if everyone is smiling…”

Ritsu can't finish the sentence as he's interrupted by a loud, repetitive and dull sound.

Someone is knocking the door, with so much insistence that it almost makes Mao worry if that person's knuckles are okay. There's no way hitting a wooden door with that emphasis can be good for a human hand.

“Isara-dono…!” As Mao gets closer to the door he can hear a voice, a cry. “Help me… Help me de gozaru…!” 

When Mao opens the door he sees the guest. A short boy, yellow clothes, purple hair. He seems to be almost in tears, holding a small sack on the hand that he wasn't torturing by hitting it against the door.

“Man, calm down, you are going to break a bone.” Mao says, trying to calm down the boy that seems about to break into tears. 

“Isara-dono…!” The boy cries once again, holding a sob as it looks like he doesn't want to break into tears.

Ritsu observes the small spectacle. Mao seems to not have an easy time trying to make his guest feel better as the boy only seems to cry and speak in some kind of language that Ritsu doesn't really understand --though it's not really a language, the boy is simply having a hard time vocalising as he's sobbing. That's until Mao finally convinces him to get inside the house and sit down in one of the couches.

Mao sits on the couch right in front of him so they can talk face to face.

“So? What happened?” Ritsu is surprised at how calm Mao’s voice sounds when asking that question as he's sure that if he had been the one dealing with the kid he would already had lost all his patience, probably drinking all his blood as a compensation for his lost time.

The guest seems to fidget, the small sack is now between his hands and he doesn't take his eye --eyes? Thanks to his hairstyle Ritsu can't see if the boy has one or two eyes, but all humans are supposed to have two if he remembers correctly,-- off from it.

He decides to put the pouch on the table, pushing it a little so it's closer to Mao. 

“What's this?” The red haired boy asks as he takes the object, raising one eyes as he drops the contents of the sack into his free hand.

What Mao is holding now in his hand is some crystal pieces, broken, and for a second Ritsu worries that he might cut his hand with it.

That would be dangerous, he's already having a hard time holding himself with Mao being completely healthy, if there's a drop of blood, considering how long it's been since the last time he tasted a proper amount of blood, Ritsu might lose control.

“Ah…” Mao seems to have realised what is he holding, as he tries to give form to the pieces and it turns out that if it hadn't been broken, the crystals would form a sphere. 

“Maa-kun, what's that?”

The guests squeaks and jumps from the couch with such force that for a second Ritsu believes that he was trying to reach the ceiling so he could hang onto it. The kid really must have some nice physical abilities to be able to jump to much. 

“Don't appear so suddenly, you scared Sengoku.” Mao scolds him, sighing as he looks the state in which the kid he has called Sengoku has been left. Ritsu had moved from the kitchen to them so quietly that neither of them had realized. Mao might be already used to Ritsu moving as quietly as a shadow, hut for someone like his guest, who wasn't even expecting for Ritsu to be there, it must be an incredible surprise.

“I-i-is it an enemy de gozaru?” He seems to be trembling softly, still surprised from Ritsu’s sudden appearance, but he can see it. This kid has taken a defensive position, he has hidden a hand on his back, maybe trying to reach for a weapon and there's something in his eyes that seems fierce.

_ Interesting.  _ Ritsu thinks for a second. This kid must have received some kind of training, which means that he must be stronger than most humans. 

Well, he's still not a menace in any way for Ritsu. He's pretty sure that even if he came at him at full speed, Ritsu could definitely...

“Calm down, both of you.” Mao interrupts his train of thought, which makes Ritsu wonder for a second if he really was being so obvious or if it's simply that Mao can understand him that well. “This is Ritsu, he's as inoffensive as a bat.” Mao introduces him to the kid, who seems to let his guard down while listening to Mao. Ritsu doesn't seem to be too happy about the introduction Mao has given though, as he's sure that he's the strongest one in the room and he could easily win against both of them together.

But he's aware that this isn't the best moment to get cocky like that.

“And that's…”

“Sengoku Shinobu! A ninja at the honourable Isara-dono’s service, de gozaru!” The kid decides to introduce himself instead, proudly, but Ritsu has a hard time trying to guess if he's being serious or not.

“ _ Honourable _ ?” Ritsu asks while looking at Mao, in an obvious teasing way.

“Shut up…” Mao answers, obviously embarrassed at both, Shinobu’s introduction and the way Ritsu is teasing him because of it.

Ritsu decides to sit next to Shinobu on the couch, wanting to discover if he's a menace or not.

He's sure that with the level of admiration he has shown towards Mao there's no way he will hurt him, but that's precisely why he could be a menace for Ritsu. If it turns out that his feelings of admiration go further away…

“You smell nice…” Ritsu says, as if it were the most normal thing while sniffing Shinobu. “You would be a good meal…” He adds, which only makes the boy flinch scared, while looking at Mao as if begging for help.

He's scared, Ritsu can smell it, and he's definitely enjoying it more than he should. 

Humans smell best when they are having strong feelings like fear, it makes their blood taste even more delicious.

He still doesn't smell as good as his Maa-kun usually does though.

“Ritsu, don't scare him.” Mao scolds Ritsu once again, but judging by the way his voice has sounded it doesn't look like he has any intention of stepping it, for now settling with just a small warning. He's already too used to Ritsu’s antics to knows that he's not a danger, that he's just trying to play a prank on the guest.

As proof of that, Ritsu shows him a grin, showing his teeth in a way that should be intimidating but that for Mao it looks playful. 

“Anyway… How did it broke?” Mao asks, changing the topic of the conversation to something that matters, the pieces of crystal that Shinobu has brought. 

“I was talking to Yuuki-dono…”

“Maa-kun, what's that?” Ritsu interrupts the boy's story, moving from the couch closer to the table so he can observe the pieces from a close distance.

“A communication device.” Mao answers, trying to make sure Ritsu won't touch it. The edges of the pieces are sharp and he could cut himself, and he's sure that if something like that happened Ritsu would become even more troublesome, demanding that he needs to been taken care of because he is wounded, even if he only has a very tiny small cut on a finger. 

“Communication device?” Ritsu asks, not too sure himself if he understands what does that mean.

“If you use it you can talk to someone who is really far away, as long as they have another one of these… And it's not broken, of course.” Mao explains simply, trying to make it sound as simple as possible.

Ritsu hums, believing that he understands the concept. He isn't too sure if that's an amazing thing or not though, he never had the need to talk to someone who is far away, he never had the need to talk with anyone else, so he isn't too sure if this device is something amazing or not.

“Does it work with magic?” Ritsu asks, not too interested about it if he has to be honest, but hearing Mao’s voice is something he will never grow tired of, even if he's talking about things that Ritsu doesn't understand or doesn't care care about. 

“If it worked with magic Sengoku wouldn't be able to use it.” Mao says while looking at the younger boy.

Ritsu turns his gaze at him as well, a little surprised at the reveal that the kid isn't a magician as well.

“You aren't Maa-kun’s disciple?” Ritsu asks. He had assumed that the respect he was showing to Mao was that of a disciple to his master, but if that's not it then he really must be wary as the kid might really be a menace for him, a rival.

The boy shakes his head furiously and then proceeds to put his hands on the front.

“I am a mere ninja at the service of the honourable Isara-dono, de gozaru!” There he goes, saying  _ honourable  _ again and making Ritsu have to bite his tongue from teasing Mao once again.

Ritsu had assumed that the whole ninja play was a persona, a personality he came up with because of his eccentric behaviour --his brother had once told him, that all magicians are weirdos,-- he didn't expect for it to be real.

But if he's being so serious about it, then it must mean it's real.

“It does work with magic, but with alchemy as well.” Mao continues his explanation, ignoring the interruption of the ninja and the vampire.

“Alchemy…?” Ritsu asks, feeling that for every answer he receives from Mao, he ends up even more confused than before.

“Something so complicated that you wouldn't understand.” Mao answers, in such a blunt and direct way that it's offensive.

It might be true, and Ritsu is well aware of it, but just because of that it doesn't mean it's less offensive.

He pouts, staring at Mao to show his discomfort at the answer, but Mao doesn't seem to notice the gesture. 

What a dense boy.

“Alchemists are more common than magicians nowadays, that's why it's more accessible like that.” Ritsu hums once again when he hears that answer, already losing interest in the explanation. 

“You really thought about everything, didn't you?” Even if the words Ritsu has spoken could be taken as a compliment, the way he has said them obviously shows that he's annoyed, that he's simply trying to get on his nerves.

“I didn't make it.” Mao answers. “Sengoku, I guess you want me to fix this?” He decides to finally pay attention to Shinobu, feeling a little bad that even if he has walked all the way to his house he has barely paid attention to him, as Ritsu kept making questions. 

Ritsu doesn't seem to happy about the shift in attention, and he decides to once again sit next to the ninja, hoping that maybe that way he will stay in Mao's field of vision.

“That would very much appreciated, de gozaru!” He answers, nodding at Mao and Ritsu can practically see how his eyes shine.

Mao smiles for a second at Shinobu when he sees his reaction.

_Still not from the bottom of your heart._ Ritsu thinks, and the difference is painfully obvious as the kid next to him has the brightest smile he might have seen in a long time while Mao’s seems incredibly forced. 

“I never had to fix anything like this… without knowing exactly what's made of it might be difficult…” Mao seems to be thinking out loud, ignoring the company he has in the room as he starts blabbing about spells, tricks, language and things that Ritsu can't even begin to understand. 

“Can't you contact the person who made it and ask for a new one?” Ritsu suggest, his words being followed with a yawn as it's obvious that he has completely lost interest in the conversation. 

“That would be… complicated…” Mao sounds troubled when Ritsu suggests that, and the vampire wonders if he said something he shouldn't. 

“The Prime Minister is an incredibly busy person after all de gozaru…” The ninja agrees with him, nodding as he closes his eyes and crosses his arms.

“Mhm…” Ritsu hums, understanding the circumstances and…

Wait.

_ Prime Minister?  _

Ritsu doesn't really understand much about human politics, but he's sure that someone with that charge is someone incredibly important in the kingdom… no, if he remembers well they got conquered a while ago, the kingdom has become now part of an empire…

Why does Mao know someone like that?

Ritsu looks at Mao, feeling that he still doesn't know anything about him, about his connections… he doesn't even know how strong he really might be, why everyone in the village seems to respect him so much. Even if he helps them, aren't usually people who are different to the usual discriminated or even killed?

The vampire feels his head is becoming a mess, for every answer he receives he gets even more questions.

“Isn't the Prime Minister an important person? How do you know him?” Ritsu decides to ask, not being able to hide his curiosity.

If it's about Maa-kun, he wants to know everything.

But instead of an answer, all he receives is a confused look from the ninja as the magician keeps inspecting the crystalic object.

“Isara-dono is a magician, it's basic knowledge that all magicians of the empire get supervised by the prime minister de gozaru.” Ritsu isn't too happy to hear the kid talking like that, not only because he is starting to think that his verbal tic is annoying, or because he feels that the kid is condescending him --he isn't-- but because he is being reminded that the ninja has known Mao for longer, that he must know things about the magician that he doesn't.

“He isn't from the empire.” Mao lies, trying to cover up for the fact that Ritsu isn't human. 

“Then where…?”

“Alright, I know how to fix this.” Mao interrupts the ninja before he can ask even more questions. “I will have to go to the forest to find one of the materials though…” He adds in a complaining voice. “Ritsu, you come with me.” He orders then, standing up and already getting ready to leave.

“Eh? No way…” Ritsu complains, and contrary to Mao, he lies down on the couch, ready to fall asleep again. “Have fun~” He says completely sure that Maa-kun won't be able to move him away from the couch.

“Isara-dono! I shall be the one accompanying you, de gozaru!” Shinobu says proudly, standing up as well and proudly hitting his chest with his fist.

Ritsu doesn't like the sound of that at all. Seeing that kid trying to get close to  _ his  _ Maa-kun is something that makes his stomach twist.

“You can't, the forest is too dangerous nowadays.” Mao immediately denies Shinobu’s suggestion, not even considering it as a possible option.

“So the kid can't get in danger but you don't care if I do?” Ritsu pouts, slowly and lazily standing up from the couch, because even if part of him is upset that Mao seems to care about Shinobu’s well-being more than about his and even if he would most definitely prefer to stay comfortably at home, if the forest is a dangerous place there's no way he can let Mao go alone.

“It's not that, it's just…”  _ You can defend yourself properly _ Mao wants to say, but if he does, Ritsu will know that he knows his secret, or that at least he's starting to suspect about it.

Mao isn't sure if that's a safe movement. There's a reason for Ritsu to hide his real identity, and while he's sure that Ritsu won't kill him if he discovers it, it's better to be wary.

“You know the forest better than me, right?” He decides to say, hoping it sounds a reason good enough for Ritsu to believe him.

Ritsu then shows him a smile, a cat-like grin that makes Mao feel a chill down his spine and almost regret that he has even said that.

“Maa-kun will be completely lost without me~” Ritsu sing songs cheerfully, too cheerfully, teasing Mao as if he were a small child.

“No, that's not what I…”

“Maa-kun really does need me, doesn't he~” Ritsu continues, completely ignoring the interruption Mao was about to do and this time he glares at the guest, at Shinobu, as he speaks. It's an incredibly childish thing to do, but right now he wants for the ninja to understand that he doesn't stand a chance against Ritsu, Maa-kun has chosen him.

Though, he's probably the only one who thinks that he has to show some kind of dominance.

“We should head there.” Mao says, deciding to ignore the comments that Ritsu has been making and with a finger flick he makes a small bag appear, which he then puts on his shoulder thanks to the string. “Sorry Sengoku, can you head home by yourself?” He asks to his guest then. “I will have the device repaired in two… Three days at most.” He adds with a troubled smile, not too sure himself if he should put such a tight deadline on himself.

“Yes! I am indebted to you, de gozaru!” Shinobu says before leaving and as soon as he gets out from the house he starts running in a way that before Ritsu realizes it he has lost sight of him.

Maybe he really is a ninja after all.

“We too, let's get going~” Mao says cheerfully as he pushes Ritsu outside the building, and without giving him any chance to run away, he holds his wrist, forcing Ritsu to walk along with Mao.

The vampire looks at the way he's being held. It's not something he dislikes, actually, he's enjoying it quite a little more than he should.

Maa-kun keeping him next to him, walking at the same pace, but still…

Ritsu shakes his arm away, getting rid of the grip, surprising Mao with the sudden movement.

But before the magician can complain about it, Ritsu's hand finds Mao’s, holding it tightly, intertwining their fingers.

“This way it's more comfortable~” He explains cheerfully, completely sure that even if he's only holding Mao's hand, the reason his body feels so warm is because Mao is sharing his body warmth with him.

“If you say so…” Is the only reply Mao gives him, not making any attempt to get rid of Ritsu's grip, for some reason not being able to look at Ritsu into the eye as he speaks.

* * *

 

Maybe Ritsu should have fought more to stay at home. 

As much as he loves seeing Mao, if he isn't receiving the same amount of attention Ritsu doesn't like it, and right now Mao is so engrossed trying to find whatever material he needs that it looks like he has completely forgotten that Ritsu is there with him.

“Maa-kun.” The vampire calls annoyed, sitting on the biggest rock he found while resting his head on one of his hands. “It's getting dark, we should head back home.” He adds, noticing that Mao is already having trouble telling apart some plants and rocks.

Ritsu doesn't really care about darkness, he actually prefers it, but he knows that there are more creatures like him in the forest.

There's an incredibly annoying one too, one that is probably looking for him right now and he really doesn't want to encounter him.

“I need to find it today…” Mao says, digging his hands into something that looks like a pile of leaves, but as soon as he does that he pulls away, groaning in pain.

“Maa-kun!” Ritsu rushes to him as fast as his legs let him, holding Mao's hands in both of his.

“I guess there was something with thorns…” Mao says while thinking out loud, letting Ritsu check his hands in case there is a wound.

Fortunately for him, he has managed to pull away before the thorns digged deep enough to make him bleed. That's something Ritsu is incredibly thankful about, not only because he hates the idea of Mao getting hurt, but because he isn't sure he will be able to hold back if he smells even the faintest scent of blood.

“Let's head back.” Ritsu says, softly, but in a way that makes it impossible for Mao to refuse.

“Yeah… we will try again tomorrow.” Mao replies, ready to head back home.

But right before he walks the first step, there's a noise, so loud that it makes Mao freeze in the spot in surprise.

A scream.

A human scream.

“Wait here!” Mao shouts as he recovers from the surprise, starting to run through the forest in direction of the scream.

He forgets about Ritsu for a second, almost pushing him aside, his brain not registering that he's shouting, calling out his name and telling him to stop running.

He can feel the lower branches of the trees hitting against his skin, it hurts, it stings, but he can't stop, he must help whoever is in danger.

If it's a villager it's his duty to keep them safe, as a magician that's the vow he made. To protect everyone, to help everyone, to make sure they smile.

As he runs, all the rumours about vampires living nearby cross his mind. He remembers how his sister got so scared that forced their parents to move out, he remembers all the people who disappeared, all the diaries he found in the library talking about them, about blood sucking monsters.

But that can't be, Ritsu has been with him all the time, there's no way a vampire is attacking a villager.

Unless he has made the wrong assumption and Ritsu isn't a vampire.

Unless there's actually more than one. 

One of those two has to be the reason, because when he reaches the place the scream came from, Mao sees it.

Black hair, red eyes, his fangs piercing the neck of a human.

There's no mistake, what Mao is seeing right now is a vampire.

And unfortunately for Mao, he sees him as well.

“Oh my? What do we have here?” His voice, the way his eyes look at him, it feels like he's being pierced from every direction, Mao is completely frozen in fear. “A witness?” The vampire says, and for some reason Mao feels that he's being sentenced to death.

_ I'm going to die. _

That's the only thought that crosses his mind, because even if the vampire hasn't moved, he knows he has nowhere to run away to.

“Maa-kun!” A distant shout makes him snap out, though he isn't sure if it was actually distant, because before he can even realize, Ritsu is next to him.

He understands the situation immediately. There's a vampire, and if they don't run away soon, he might attack Mao.

Ritsu knows him too well, if he has called Mao a witness, there's no way he will let him live, this guy wants to make sure no one discovers where he is after all.

But unlike Mao, he isn't frozen in fear and instead he decides to grab Mao by the wrist, trying to get the best grip of him.

“Run!” He shouts, and before Mao can even react, before the vampire can even say a single word, Ritsu has started to run, dragging him along, his grip being so strong that it hurts Mao but right now he can't do anything about it, Mao can't complain either.

Mao's legs hurt. The way Ritsu is running is too fast for a human and his legs are begging him to stop. If only he could find enough concentration, he would be able to cast a simple spell to increase his endurance and speed. But right now his mind is only filled with fear.

When they finally reach Mao's house, Mao can't walk even a single step. Even breathing hurts, and his legs end up giving up, making him fall against the floor, his upper body needing the support of the door.

“What… was that…” He asks, still having trouble breathing.

Ritsu looks at him, his mind finally processing everything that has happened, but he doesn't even bother to pretend that he too is tired, right now he doesn't care if his identity gets found.

“Vampire…” He whispers, finally releasing Mao's wrist from his grip. “My…” He immediately closes his mouth when he feels that Mao is reaching for him, holding his hand.

When Ritsu looks at him he can see that he's completely scared. His hand is shaking, and Ritsu can't even say that he's surprised.

Still, when he sees Mao in this state, there's no way he can say the vampire they have just seen is his brother.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too many characters were mentioned in this chapter, weren't they?
> 
> Another magician that has been mentioned previously, a phoenix that belonged to the emperor and the prime minister are characters whose names still haven't been mentioned but I challenge you to discover their identities!
> 
> Rei (who had been mentioned before in chapter 2) and Shinobu made an appearance in this chapter and they will keep appearing in the story so please look forward to it!
> 
> As for Makoto, it wasn't mentioned but he is an alchemist who also specialises on gathering information.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you have some time I would be incredibly grateful if you leave even a small comment! Thank you very much for sticking with me!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! Happy holidays!
> 
> Ah, it really has been a long time since the last update, hasn't it? I'm really sorry about that, but at least I'm once again back with this story!  
> For a while I was wondering if it would be worth it to update since after so long, I was sure that no one would be interested in this story anymore, but I have been proved wrong, I have been told by people that they want to continue reading this fanfic that I'm writing, and thus, I have decided to not give up, to keep on writing for those that are still interested in the continuation.  
> It might take long and the updates might be really apart from each other (for better or for worse, my studies need for me to spend a lot of time on them, and I often can't bring myself to write), but I really want to continue this story until its very end.
> 
> All that said, I have to say that today is a day to celebrate! It's not exactly a coincidence as I kind of planned the update to published today when I started writing it a few weeks ago, but today is the one year anniversary of TSOM! It honestly doesn't feel that long for me, time sure flies fast...
> 
> I hope you enjoy this extra-long update I wrote and please keep supporting this story of mine for a little longer!

Mao smells like blood.

It’s faint, so faint that if he were a human, Ritsu wouldn’t be able to notice it, which only makes him curse his vampire nature as a result.

The wounds in his body --caused because he selflessly decided to start running hoping that he would reach the person that needed his aid, hurting his body when it brushed against the nearby branches-- are small and healing properly, just red lines in his body that will soon fade away without even leaving a memory that they were there in the first place.

Still, until they are completely gone, Ritsu can’t avoid catching the scent of blood. The delicious blood that he has been craving for so long that sometimes he feels he will end up losing his mind, and by this point, he doesn't know himself how he's managing to hold back from digging his fangs into Mao’s neck.

He has noticed after all, that these days, he has been staring at that part of Maa-kun’s body more often than he should, thinking that one bite, just one bite, won’t hurt neither of them.

He knows that’s a lie though.

Ritsu knows that as soon as his cover has been busted, everything will be over, that he won’t be able to stay by Mao’s side for any longer.

Maybe that’s the reason he has managed to hold himself for so long now. Because the thought of losing Mao is something that scares him more, hates more than not being able to ever drink his blood, to ever drink anyone’s blood again.

And the truth is that he has to admit it, that the nighttime is specially hard.

Ritsu can still remember the night when they arrived home after spending time in the forest, after they encountered his brother, after he took Mao’s hand and dragged him away from there as fast as he could, not even bothering to think about the fate of the victim that the vampire had taken.

Maa-kun had sit on the floor, not moving even an inch, still holding Ritsu’s hand, covered in cold sweat and trembling, part of him not wanting to admit what he had just seen.

For the first time ever since Ritsu became a human, Mao was the one requesting Ritsu to stay with him during the night, holding hands as they lied on the same bed, Mao’s face still showing fear in his sleep and Ritsu could do nothing but wonder if there was something he could do to take those ugly feelings away from him.

There was one thing he could think about as his eyes fell on the human’s lips, but he was sure that doing such a thing would be more beneficial for him than for Mao.

On that night, he had managed to hold himself easily, the only thought that filled his mind being the worry that he felt for Mao.

But the days and nights came by and were gone. Maa-kun is the kind of person who doesn’t lie down defeated for a long time, and in less than a week, he was back to normal.

Which means that Ritsu feels more at ease, at least when it comes to Mao’s mental health.

His worry has shifted to a completely different topic now.

He wonders, he really wonders, if it’s okay for him to remain like this, not telling Mao about his true nature.

 _One more night._ He tells himself. _When morning arrives, I will tell him everything._ He repeats those words every night, never managing to fulfill the promise that he makes to himself.

He can’t find the conviction to do it, to tell Mao that -as much as he hates it- he’s the same kind of creature that the one that caused him those horrible nightmares, the one his sister was so afraid of that she forced their family to move away, the same as the one that has been feeding on the villagers of the village he loves so much.

Ritsu is scared of his reaction, of the way Mao might push him away when he finds out, of the hate he will see in his eyes when he thinks about all the atrocities that Ritsu might have done in the past.

It’s painful, just thinking about it shakes him to the core, making him unable to speak even a single word.

The vampire has wondered once or twice before, if maybe Mao was playing dumb, if maybe he actually knew the truth and he was pretending not to know for whatever reason that he can’t understand, but now he’s sure that if the magician was aware that he has been housing a vampire all this time, he wouldn’t be so at ease.

He wouldn’t be sleeping with his guard completely down right now, curled next to Ritsu who even in the pitch-black darkness can see him perfectly, observing the way he sleeps.

“Maa-kun, do you even have an inch of self-preservation?” Ritsu asks in a whisper as his hand reaches out for him, stopping right before touching the bangs that brush against his closed eyes, too long now that he has let them down, the hairpin lying somewhere in the room. The vampire thinks that it’s better this way. That he shouldn’t touch him as it would only do things harder for him.

If he gets to feel Mao’s warmth once again, he’s sure that he really won’t be able to part away from him.

Now that he has known about him, he’s sure that if he spends too long away from him he will freeze, both his heart and body will be unable to keep on going. Just like humans need the sun to survive, Ritsu is sure that he needs Mao to survive.

He has known for a while, but he can say with any doubt now, that the feeling that fills his whole being must be that emotion that humans like to call love.

“You should be more careful around me…” He whispers once again, moving his hand away, instead placing it on the mattress next to Mao’s, his eyes not being able to ignore the small scars that he left on him when he was still presenting himself as a small and helpless bat. “If I ever lose control it won’t be my fault.” Even if he’s still whispering, the way his voice sounds is more childish now, as if he was somehow trying to lecture Mao, trying to take all the blame away from himself. “You are the one who’s letting his guard down…”

Ritsu knows that no matter how many excuses he tells himself, if he ever attacks Mao, he will be the one who’s to blame. Even if it’s his nature, even if he can’t help being a monster, he would never forgive himself if he hurts Maa-kun.

Before his thoughts can start going astray, Mao moves in his sleep, only a little bit, such a  small movement that it could be easy to ignore if it weren’t because now his hand is touching Ritsu’s, a feather touch that it almost feels like it’s burning his skin like the sun itself. 

That’s a feeling that he has a lot when he’s with Mao, he feels that even his insides are burning, but unlike when he’s under the sun, he actually likes it when Mao is the reason of it. A gentle fire that makes him feel more alive than he has ever felt.

 _Ah, this is bad._ The vampire thinks, feeling that even if Mao’s hand is only brushing against his own hand, he feels as if a fire has been light up inside of him, running all across his body. _It keeps getting more difficult…_ Ritsu himself isn’t too sure what does he mean with that, if telling Mao the truth becomes harder every second they spend together or if holding back keeps getting harder.

Maybe it’s actually both.

 _One more._ He promises himself, aware that the words now sound empty, that he doesn’t have any resolve to fulfill that promise. _One more night, and I will tell him the truth._ He repeats those words, trying to convince himself as he holds Mao’s hand, closing his eyes as dawn approaches and he falls asleep.

* * *

 

For first time ever since he encountered the vampire, Mao feels that he has had a pleasant dream.

When he opens his eyes he gets greeted by the closeness of Ritsu’s face to his, and the lukewarm feeling in his hand, too cold for a human, but he has somehow managed to ignore that fact, instead finding the feeling comforting.

“I have totally gotten used to you, haven’t I?” He sighs, thinking that some time ago, when they had first meet, even if there was more distance between them, he had freaked out upon seeing him. _Well, he was naked back then._ He reminds himself, and as soon as he does he gets embarrassed, not wanting to admit that he still remembers way too well how Ritsu’s naked figure looks, not wanting to think about what could that mean.

He shakes his hand away from Ritsu’s grip, the sleeping boy frowning in his sleep but immediately curling on himself, making Mao smile thinking that the motion can’t be described as anything other than cute.

Once again, he wants to ignore that he’s starting to think about that kind of things --about Ritsu being cute, about his eyes following him before he realizes it, about how strangely comfortable it feels to have him clinging to him--, not wanting to give too much thought to what it means.

“Now that I think about it…” He starts speaking out loud, even if he knows that Rtsu can’t hear him in his sleep, looking at the hand that was holding Ritsu’s just a moment ago. “It’s not the first time I woke up holding your hand…” _and I hope it won’t be the last,_ he adds in his mind, almost as a subconscious thought that he doesn’t allow himself to recognize as a real thought, instead he tries to ignore it, along with the warmness he’s starting to feel in his face.

He stands up, leaving the bed and its warmness, wondering what kind of trick he should use today to wake Ritsu up.

“The trick with water worked well the other day, but he was in a bad mood after that…” He starts saying, the thoughts about magic making it easier to forget the thoughts he was having just a few seconds ago. “making him float is still the most effective, but if he holds onto the bed he could fly with it…” He sighs, realizing that he’s starting to run out of ideas and that he will have to repeat some of his old tricks, which means that Ritsu will have a better chance to counter him.

Though, maybe for once, he could let him sleep peacefully.

Even after he saved him from the vampire, Mao didn’t reward Ritsu with something as simple as letting him sleep as much as he wanted.

Well, he has to admit that the main reason was because even in his own house he felt too scared to be on his own.

It’s different now though, since he’s now completely sure that the vampire didn’t follow them, that they are safe.

 _Black eyes and red eyes._ He remembers, his eyes immediately falling on Ritsu, still sleeping, fitting that description. _It has to be a coincidence._ He tells himself, repeating the words twice, thrice, and as many times as he needs to convince himself.

If Ritsu were a vampire, he would had attacked him long ago. He had way too many chances for that, especially when he was sleeping.

And yet, Mao is completely fine, no marks in his neck, no blood that has been drained out from him.

Besides, can a vampire really spend so long without drinking blood? Especially with the wounds he had when Mao found him? When he thinks about it, Mao can’t find any reason for Ritsu to hold back on drinking blood, after all…

_“Because I love you~”_

Even if he remembers that Ritsu said that when they meet -and he totally doesn’t feel his heart skip a beat when he remembers those words- he can’t fully believe him, at the back of his head thinking that he must be joking.

In the end, Ritsu being a vampire, while answering some questions, would only raise even more.

Or maybe it's just that he doesn't want to believe it yet, he wants to believe that Ritsu isn't hiding anything from him.

Mao wants to directly ask him, what’s the truth, what’s his relationship with that vampire that looked so similar to him, why does he want to be his familiar so badly.

But every time he tries, the words die in his throat.

After all, he has no right to force Ritsu to tell his secrets, not when he himself hasn’t told him all the truth about himself.

He decides to leave the room without waking Ritsu yet. Not because he’s planning to let him sleep all day, but because just like every day, before waking him up, he heads to the entrance door.

He can see the letter that has been introduced from under the door, just like every morning.

Mao frowns as he takes it from the floor, hoping that it will be something different. Maybe his sister finally wrote him about the new village they live in. Maybe it’s Makoto that writes to him worried about not being able to talk now that the device is broken. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

But instead, the letter is the same as always.

Handwritten from the Emperor’s right hand-man himself, Hasumi Keito, telling him that just like every other magician in the country, he must have an audience with the Emperor so he can…

Just with a slight movement of his wrist, he burns the letter instead of reading more, knowing the contents of it by heart after having received it so often, never replying to it.

Mao is aware that he can’t continue this way, that if he doesn’t reply anytime soon, the Prime Minister might come himself, and that’s when Mao won’t have any way to refuse the call to meet the Emperor.

He wonders how would Ritsu react to a situation like that.

 _If he stays a little longer, if he really decides to stay forever… I will tell him the truth._ Mao tells himself, trying to convince himself, knowing that he can’t find the conviction to hold that promise.

Once the letter has been reduced to ashes, once he has made the remains disappear as if the letter had never existed --the only proof of its existence being the bitter taste that it has left on Mao’s mouth after reading only the beginning of it--, he turns back and heads to the kitchen, his eyes falling on his small and cramped studio, day after day being filled with more and more books as he tries to find information about turning a bat-turned-human into his familiar.

“Vampires…” He whispers, the idea crossing his mind. “Maybe I should try to find something… Just in case…” He says, still trying to convince himself that Ritsu isn’t a vampire, that the reason he’s curious about those creatures is because it might give him a better lead.

As he thinks of that, he forgets about breakfast, he forgets about having to wake Ritsu up. Instead heading to the studio, hoping that today will really be the day in which he finds information on how to turn Ritsu into his familiar.

* * *

 

The sun is setting when Ritsu opens his eyes again, immediately surprised that he hasn’t been woken up by one of Maa-kun’s unpleasant magic tricks, and the surprise changes into worry in less than one second.

If Maa-kun isn’t here with him, where is he?

He gets out from the bed, too fast for his liking as he would love to laze around for a little longer, but he needs to make sure that Maa-kun is safe, that nothing bad has happened to him, that his brother hasn’t found the way to his house, that he hasn’t been hurt.

If it weren’t because the house is so small, Ritsu would be running, trying to find him no matter what. But fortunately, he only needs to walk a few steps outside the room to see that Mao is inside his studio, working in his magic studies and Ritsu can feel himself calming down.

And then he feels anger, because he got worried and worked up over nothing, and that’s definitely Maa-kun’s fault, because he didn’t tell him he would be working today.

Though, he would have gotten angry if Mao had decided to wake up just to tell him he would be working all day, ignoring Ritsu.

Thinking about it makes him even angrier, and for a second he thinks about getting revenge on Mao, but part of him isn’t sure if he should take that kind of risk. He can barely hold himself back from biting Mao, if he starts thinking about a payback, he’s sure that it will end up in tragedy.

“Maa-kun.” He calls instead, from a safe distance, a distance in which the smell of his blood isn’t driving him crazy. But there’s no reply. The magician still keeps his head down, reading one of the multiple books that he has managed to fit in the incredibly small studio, facing his back to Ritsu. “Maa-kun!” The vampire calls louder, stepping forward, regretting it as soon as the scent of blood becomes stronger, threatening to break his willpower. “Maa-kun!” He repeats once again, louder than the previous one, louder than he has sounded in longer than he can remember, realizing that he’s starting to feel anger about being ignored.

But finally, the red haired boy raises his head, turning around on the chair to look at Ritsu.

“Ritsu? Why are you awake?” He asks, surprised that Ritsu has woken up on his own, thinking that since he has let him sleep for a little longer, he would take the chance to sleep until dinner time. “Wait… What time is it?” He asks then, thinking that maybe he’s the one who didn’t realize what time is it, and when he realizes that the light in the room is dim, too dim for it to be morning, he’s finally aware that he spent too long working.

He sighs, standing up from the chair, calling it off for today since it’s obvious that Ritsu doesn’t look ready to let him work more.

“Still nothing…” Mao whispers as he stretches his body, feeling it sore after spending so long in the same position.

“Did you eat something?” Ritsu asks, frowning, trying to have a peek into the desk in the studio hoping to see some kind of empty dish, but other than books, notebooks and a quill to write, he can’t see anything.

“About that…” Mao shows him one of his troubled smiles, scratching the back of his head and keeping his eyes closed. “It seems I lost track of time…” He admits, not sounding proud of that.

 _That makes me angry._ Ritsu thinks, not sure what exactly is making him angry. He got worked up over nothing when Mao didn’t wake him up, even if he keeps complaining when he does wake him up. He got ignored, and even if Mao is working precisely for Ritsu’s sake, he doesn’t like it.

He doesn’t like that even when he admits doing something that he shouldn’t have, he looks like he isn’t sorry at all, as if it were something that he couldn’t help.

Ritsu doesn’t like that Mao keeps making him feel all kinds of emotions that he had never felt before. Anger. Worry. Happiness. Love. All the emotions that contradict each other, making him feel like they are tearing him from the inside, and at the same time, making him feel alive.

“I’m hungry.” Ritsu says, being the one who turns around this time. “Make something for dinner.” He orders, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible, the lethargic tone that he uses always, as if that way he was trying to show to Mao and to himself that nothing is affecting him.

“Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed?” Mao asks, frowning as he sees through Ritsu’s act, noticing that he’s irritated but not being able to identify the reason of his irritation. “Hey, since you are awake you could help a little.” He says then, seeing that Ritsu is trying to head back to the room, probably wanting to sleep until the food is ready.

“Blanket.” Is all the explanation Ritsu says before he enters the room.

He really doesn’t feel in the mood to help Mao making dinner, especially when he has made him feel so irritated, so if possible he will find any excuse to not work.

Though he would find any excuse to not work even if he wasn’t irritated.

Just as he has told Mao, he heads to the bed and grabs the blanket, putting it on his shoulders as if it were some kind of cape. As much as he would love to let his body fall into the mattress and rest until the sun is completely set, he knows that doing that will end up making Mao feel irritated, which in return will make Ritsu angry, and he isn’t really in a situation where he can be allowed to lose control of his emotions.

 _Tonight. I have to tell him tonight._ He forces himself to think that, to promise that, and to not break that promise.

Even if it’s weak, he does have some conviction, and he knows that the longer he delays it, the more dangerous it will be for Mao.

“You really like that blanket.” Mao says when he sees that Ritsu is coming back, looking like he’s having some trouble trying to decide their menu.

“It’s warm.” Ritsu explains shrugging, holding the blanket with his hand and wrapping himself better with it, letting the scent of it, the scent of Mao fill him, hoping that it will be enough to trick his mind into thinking that something like that is enough, that he doesn’t need blood yet.

It might also be that he wants to enjoy that smell for as long as he can, knowing that once Mao knows the truth, there’s no way he will be allowed to stay in this house.

“It will be a bother when you try to cook though…” Mao says, as if he didn’t have the intention of letting Ritsu slack off on cooking, deciding that he will help him no matter what.

“Maa-kun is the one doing the cooking though…” Ritsu talks back, showing his own resolve on his decision of not helping Mao no matter what.

“You do realize I’m the one cooking always, right?” Mao complains, raising an eyebrow at him as he hands Ritsu the dishes so he can start setting the table.

“That’s right~ and there’s no need to change something that works so well, is there~?” Ritsu says cheerfully, with a grin that somehow makes Mao feel pissed off. Though without realizing, he has end up accepting the dishes, starting the duty of setting the table.

“You know…” Before Mao can finish the complaint, someone starts knocking the door, interrupting the discussion that they were having just now, making them both turn the attention to the door. “It’s late… Who could it be?” Mao asks as he heads to the door, and for a second Ritsu wonders if he’s actually scared.

There’s nothing to worry about. Mao knows that if the vampire knew where he lives, he wouldn’t be knocking the door so politely and he would have come way sooner, attacking and ending his life while he was asleep. Even if he keeps thinking that, he can’t help but feel scared, part of him wanting to keep the door closed.

He knows he can’t do that though, if the vampire is really here he has to buy some time so everyone else in the village can run away.

But when he opens the door, he sighs relieved when he sees the familiar figure of the ninja that he knows so well.

“It’s just Sengoku.” Mao sighs, in a mix between disappointment about getting worked up for nothing, embarrassment because of that same thing, and relief.

“Could it be you were waiting for someone else, de gozaru?” The ninja asks, surprised about Mao’s reaction, already starting to look visibly nervous. “What a mistake I have done! I shall take my leave and return when it’s more proper de gozaru!” He says, bowing in an apology before turning back to walk away.

“No, no, no, wait, wait.” Mao stops him, reaching to hold the collar of his clothes before he can walk too far away. “It’s fine, you have walked all the way here, it would be rude to not treat you like a proper guest.” He says, pulling him inside the house, his manners not looking proper enough for the treatment of a guest.

“Isara-dono…!” Shinobu calls, and Ritsu could swear he can see his eyes shine in admiration despite the situation he's in, being strangled by his own clothes.

Ritsu definitely doesn’t like the scene that he’s seeing. He’s aware that the reason is his childish jealousy, being reminded how little time he has actually spent with Mao in comparison to this kid, to everyone else in this village, but he doesn’t like being reminded about it.

“Why did you come here?” Ritsu asks, walking away from the kitchen and getting closer to Mao, looking at the way he’s still holding the kid from his clothes and he can feel that his face is showing an unpleasant expression.

It gets confirmed when the ninja shrieks in fear, getting rid of Mao’s grip and jumping away, bringing his hand to the pocket where he probably keeps his weapons, obviously feeling scared of Ritsu’s presence.

Ritsu has to admit, that for a human, he has good reflexes, and his instinct of survival is good too.

After all, unlike Maa-kun, he is recognizing Ritsu as a possible threat.

“Come on, calm down both of you.” Mao scolds them, glaring at them, making them both feel guilty about the way they have been behaving. “Ritsu, that’s not the proper way to treat a guest.” He continues scolding, making Ritsu pout looking away, thinking that it’s not his fault, the one at fault is that ninja, acting so friendly with his Maa-kun. “Sengoku, Ritsu isn’t dangerous enough for you to get so defensive.” He says then, speaking more softly than he did with Ritsu, as if he were speaking to a child, but once again, Ritsu’s jealousy starts working once again.

“I could kick that kid’s ass if I wanted though…” Ritsu says under his breath, and even if he’s still pouting, he sounds as if somehow he felt a bit proud about his strength, even if Mao has never really seen him lift something heavier than the blanket he has around him right now.

“Ritsu.” Mao calls, once again his voice sounding scolding, frowning, and Ritsu knows he shouldn’t have said that. Not because it’s not true or because he could make the guest uncomfortable, but because it’s making Mao angrier at him.

“It’s the truth…” Ritsu mutters once again, being stubborn and not wanting to go back on his words.

“Ri. Tsu.” Once again Mao calls him, sounding more exasperated than he did the previous time, sighing and giving up on trying to correct his behaviour. “Forgive him Sengoku, he’s just all bark and no bite, you can ignore him.” Ritsu groans as soon as he hears those words, thinking that Mao saying that is only making him want to bite him even more, to show him that he really means it when he says he’s the strongest one in the room.

“I can bite too…” He whispers, covering his mouth, not wanting to give in to his instincts, to the provocation, even if his fangs are hurting more and more each passing second. But if he has been able to hold back until now, he can continue going on.

“Huh…” The ninja doesn’t look like he’s fully convinced about Mao’s words, still eyeing Ritsu as if he were some kind of dangerous creature that he has entered his territory.

He isn’t precisely wrong on that.

“What brings you here?” Mao asks with a smile, sitting on the couch and letting Shinobu know that it’s okay to take a seat as well.

Ritsu takes the offer as well, lying down on the same couch as Mao, resting his head on his lap and showing a nasty grin to the ninja.

It doesn’t seem to last long though, since Mao pushes him aside, forcing him to seat.

“The communication device, de gozaru…” Shinobu explains, taking a seat in the couch in front of the one Mao and Ritsu are sitting in. “You said it would be ready in a few days, but I didn’t have the chance to show myself earlier…” Once again the ninja shrieks, and once again the reason is Ritsu’s glare.

Though Mao has to admit that this time, he too feels a bit scared, the red of his eyes looking as if they had gotten brighter, as if they were made of blood itself, his lips pressed in a line.

Mao has never seen someone look so calm yet so angry at the same time, and for a second he wonders if the person sitting next to him is really the same person he has known and has been living with him these few weeks.

“Ritsu! Cut it out!” Instead of the usual scolding tone, it actually sounds as if Mao were actually requesting him to obey him, begging even, and it does look like the words manage to reach Ritsu, making him look directly at Mao instead.

The gaze makes Mao freeze in the spot. It’s once again those eyes, just like a beast that is about to devour him, and no matter how many times he gets gazed upon by those eyes, it seems like he can’t really get used.

He has to run, he will be devoured if he doesn’t, that’s what his instincts tell him.

But Ritsu blinks, once, twice, thrice, and then he looks down, seeming to wake up for whatever trance he was in.

“Isara-dono! Is he really someone you can trust, de gozaru!?” Shinobu asks, standing on the couch, already holding his weapons, ready to jump into Ritsu.

Mao can’t blame him, anyone would get defensive when facing something like that.

“Calm down.” Mao tells him, seeing that Ritsu is looking down now, looking as if he had done something horrible, covering his eyes with his hand, and now Mao isn’t sure if his words were directed to Shinobu or to Ritsu.

Shinobu seems to have realized the state Ritsu is in and he lowers his weapons, but the worry doesn’t disappear from his face.

“Is he really not dangerous, de gozaru?” He asks, not taking his eyes away from him.

“I would never put the village in danger.” Is all Mao says, firmly, thinking that he would rather die than putting anyone in the village in danger, than making any of the people who has treated him so well suffer. “We had an unfortunate encounter in the forest, he probably remembered that and got nervous.” He explains, standing up. “I will bring some water, you must be thirsty.” He tells Ritsu, and the vampire has to hold back a chuckle.

 _You don’t know how much._ He thinks, taking his hands away from his face, but deciding that it might better if he doesn’t look at the ninja directly, he has shown enough hostility for now.

“Unfortunate encounter…?” Shinobu asks as he follows Mao with his gaze, but he doesn’t receive any reply.

It’s better this way. The village shouldn't know that there’s a vampire.

Just like Mao said, the reason he almost lost control just now was because he was thinking about that encounter.

But unlike what he thinks, his feelings weren’t of anger or fear, but envy, jealousy. Because him, the vampire, his brother, got to drink fresh blood. The scent, the image, they are still burned into his mind and every time he remembers it, every time he remembers just how good fresh blood tastes, he feels that it’s worth losing control.

But when his rational side wakes up, when he remembers that if he does that he will lose Maa-kun, he can’t help but feel disgusted at his own thought.

 _It has to be tonight._ Ritsu reminds himself, realizing that there’s no way he can postpone it for longer, that he’s putting Mao in danger.

“Here.” Mao says as he offers Ritsu a glass of water, which the vampire immediately drinks, feeling that it hasn’t calmed down his thirst at all.

When he looks up, he’s ready to see Mao looking angrily at him, upset because he scared the ninja kid, but instead he’s meet a worried gaze, as if he were ready to bring another glass of water if he needs it, as if he were ready to do anything for him.

Ritsu can’t help but feel his heart sting, thinking that if he knew the kind of monster that he is, Mao wouldn’t show him any hint of concern, he wouldn’t show him kindness.

He tells to himself that he will really miss being taken cared of in this way, but he would rather live an eternity away from Mao, knowing that he is safe than giving into his instincts and regret it for the rest of his life.

He tries to convince himself that he really wants that. That Mao's safety if more important than his selfish desire of wanting to be with him.

“Well, that aside…” Mao sits once again next to Ritsu when he sees that he isn’t asking for anything else, turning his attention to Shinobu, trying to change the topic, hoping that he will somehow manage to break the tension in the room. “What brings you here?” He asks, repeating the question he did previously, hoping that they will be able to pretend nothing happened just now.

“Ah, that’s…” Shinobu doesn’t seem to be able to forget so easily, his eyes looking at Ritsu, observing him, trying to get convinced that he really isn’t a threat.

Ritsu has to admit that the kid is really doing his best, he can see in his eyes that if they had met in any other circumstance, the ninja would never be able to trust him and they would probably be in the middle of a fight already. But since Mao, _the honourable Isara-dono,_ is the one telling him that Ritsu isn’t dangerous, he isn’t doing anything like that.

That’s how much people in the village trust Mao. Shinobu is putting aside his sharpest instincts and instead trusting the judgment of someone else, even if he could put his life in danger.

“The communication device, I wanted to know if it was already fixed, de gozaru…” He explains, and now that he’s looking at Mao while he talks, it looks like he has managed to calm down, finally letting his guard down.

“About that…” Mao brings his hand to his head, nervous, scratching it and forcing himself to smile. “Sorry, I couldn’t find the material to fix it.” It’s not completely a lie, as it’s true that he didn’t manage to find the material, but he decides to not mention anything about the unfortunate encounter.

Still when he looks at how upset Shinobu looks, he can’t help but feel guilty.

“I… Can try something though…” Mao says, sounding a bit troubled and standing up from the couch, walking toward the studio.

Ritsu turns around in the couch to look at him, raising an eyebrow, curious about what he might do. He can see that he grabs the quill he was using previously, along with some books and when he leaves them in the small table, he flicks his fingers, making the bag that he used when he went to the forest with Ritsu appear. From inside of it, he grabs all the fragments of the broken device and places them in the table, next to the quill and the books.

“I can’t promise it will work.” Mao warns, taking one of the books and starting to turn the pages, quickly, so quickly that Ritsu isn’t sure he’s actually reading the words.

“A trick?” The vampire asks, moving so he can sit closer to Mao.

“Not this time.” Mao replies, his eyes fixed on the book and Ritsu realizes that he can’t read whatever language is written in.

“Is it magic, de gozaru?” The ninja asks, almost jumping from the couch, his hands on the table as he leans forward, looking like an excited kid.

Mao’s reply is to look away from the book for a moment, showing him a proud smile, an expression that Ritsu had never seen on him before.

“Don’t tell anyone about it, okay?” The magician requests, his voice sounding cheerful, leaving the book open in front of him so he can read the spell. Ritsu understands then, that the language written in that book is something that he will never be able to read, a language that belongs only to people like Mao.

Ritsu is actually curious about it, about learning a new side about Mao, about knowing what’s the difference between the things that he calls tricks and the things that he calls magic, about having yet another more memory of him.

Mao takes the quill, observing it with concern and Ritsu can almost hear his doubts about this, as if suddenly he wasn’t as confident as he pretended to be a few seconds ago.

He points the quill at the pieces of the broken device, moving his wrist in delicate movements, as if he were writing something and then he starts reciting the spell. Ritsu can hear Mao speak, he can hear his voice, but he can’t identify any of the the sounds he’s making, as if his mind couldn’t register them. It’s not that Mao is speaking a different language, but rather, it feels like Ritsu has been the one who has forgotten words.

As Mao speaks, the pieces start floating above the table, moving and getting closer to each other until they become one, a perfect sphere that once Mao stops speaking, carefully lands on the table.

It didn’t look flashy or specially impressive, but at the same time, Ritsu couldn’t take his eyes away from it, and when Mao sighs as a signal that he has ended his magic, Ritsu realizes that until now he felt that he wasn’t in control of his body, his mind feeling dizzy.

“Isara-dono’s magic is always electrifying de gozaru!” Shinobu says as he holds his head with his hands, smiling and closing his eyes and if Ritsu is honest, he doesn’t know if that’s some kind of compliment but he agrees with his words.

“Sorry, that's because you aren't used to it.” Mao apologizes, knowing that for those who can't understand magic, for those who can't see how it flows, being exposed to it can be unpleasant. “It’s not that impressive… At least not visually.” Mao says, his voice sounding tired and Ritsu can see that the quill he was holding isn’t in his hand any longer. He seems to notice Ritsu’s confusion and he smiles softly to him. “You want to know what I did?” He asks, and for a second Ritsu feels that he’s somehow teasing him, as if he wanted to be asked about it.

Ritsu simply nods, not being able to hold back the curiosity he feels.

“I made the time of the device go back.” He starts explaining as he takes the sphere and checks that it really got fixed, that it doesn’t have any crack. Its maker, the prime minister, was really specific saying that even the slightest crack could make it stop working. “By going back in time, it went back to its original state… But when it broke some of the pieces got lost, I had to use the quill to replace them.” He continues, handing the device to Shinobu once he has made sure that it’s in perfect shape. “But the quill wasn’t made of the same material, so I had to change its composition to make it fit properly… And since it’s magic, I can do that with a spell even if they are two completely different materials.” He ends the explanation, and if Ritsu didn’t know Mao, he would say that he’s bragging about how convenient magic is. “That was exhausting though…” He complains immediately, letting his body rest against the couch, closing his eyes. “Time magic is _that guy’s_ speciality so I try to avoid it… Doing something I'm not used to sure is tiring…” He continues complaining in a whisper, only loud enough for Ritsu to hear him.

“I am once again indebted to you, de gozaru!” Shinobu says, not even checking if the device is in a proper state, having blind faith in the fact that Mao must have done a perfect job and Ritsu can swear that once again he’s seeing his eyes shine in admiration.

 _He pisses me off._ Is all he can think, biting his lip.

“What’s the difference between _that,_ ” Ritsu points at the device as he speaks, but it almost feels like he’s pointing at Shinobu instead. “And the things you do when we are in bed?” He asks, making the ninja almost drop the device again, his eyes opening so much that it feels they might fall.

“You should learn how to word things. See? Sengoku got the wrong idea.” Mao scolds him, not feeling too happy to admit that the reason he isn’t feeling embarrassed right now is because he got too used to Ritsu speaking that way. “I have to wake him up using tricks every morning because that’s how much of a heavy sleeper he is, that’s all there is too it.” Mao explains so the kid will stop thinking about things that aren’t true.

“Maa-kun only has one bed, so we sleep together _~_ ” Ritsu says teasingly, showing the nastiest grin he can to the guest, as if showing off that in this short time he has managed to get close enough to Mao to be able to sleep with him without bothering him.

“Oooh, I see, that’s practical! Your back would be pained if you slept in the couch de gozaru!” Shinobu says, not catching Ritsu’s hostility this time, making the vampire believe that maybe the sharp instincts he felt earlier were just his imagination.

Or it might be that Ritsu’s hostility this time was so childish that there was no reason for Shinobu to get on his defense.

“In any case,” Ritsu says, cleary annoyed because the reaction from the kid has been nothing like he expected. “What’s the difference between magic and tricks?” He asks, changing the topic, forgetting that he’s supposed to be the one revealing his secrets to Mao tonight.

“Magic is magic and tricks are tricks.” Mao says shrugging, making himself comfortable in the couch, as if he were about to fall asleep. “Even if I explained it to you, you wouldn’t understand…” He adds later as he closes his eyes, exhausted, and he wonders if he said that just as an excuse to not have to explain more.

Ritsu feels that he has seen Mao do way more impressive things that fixing a small communication device before, but he guesses that the difference between those things that he calls tricks and the things that he calls magic is that he ends up feeling exhausted.

“I shall be taking my leave now.” Shinobu says as he stands up, placing the device safely inside his pocket. “Once again, I am greatly indebted to you, Isara-dono, de gozaru!” He says cheerfully, before he politely bows at Mao and then heads to the door.

“Ah, wait.” Mao calls, opening his eyes, but instead of looking at the ninja, he turns his gaze at Ritsu, pointing at Shinobu. “Accompany him to his house.” He requests, almost sounding like an order, and both, the vampire and the ninja flinch.

“Why should I do something like that?” Ritsu asks, frowning, the hostility from before returning, not liking the idea of having to help someone that he considers a potential enemy when it comes to Mao’s affection.

“There’s no need for that de gozaru…” Shinobu says, his hand already in the doorknob, ready to head outside. But Mao shakes his head when he hears his words.

“It’s already dark outside, it’s dangerous for you to be alone.” He says, firmly, not admitting a negative answer neither from Ritsu or from Shinobu.

He can still remember the fear he felt when encountering the vampire in the forest, if Ritsu hadn’t snapped him out from it, if he hadn’t taken Mao running as fast as his legs allowed him, who know what could have happened.

And the fact that he got called witness still bothers him, he could feel it right in that moment that he was going to get murdered, that his blood would be completely drained.

He wonders if the vampire is still after him, and if he is, he will definitely reach the village. He should tell the villagers about it, he should find a way to make sure they are on guard…

But that could make them feel scared, that could bring chaos.

They could start hating him for bringing a danger like that into the village.

 _I have to deal with it myself._ Mao thinks, not wanting to admit that he isn’t sure about what is he more scared about, about the vampire reaching the village and doing something horrible or about the whole village hating him.

He knows that the answer should be obvious, but if he started to be hated, if he lost the place where he belongs…

“Why don’t you accompany him?” Ritsu suggests, pouting, still wanting to avoid spending time with Shinobu.

“I’m tired.” Mao complains, and he realizes that it sounds like an incredibly lame excuse, but it’s true that using magic properly after so long has exhausted him more than he would like to admit. “Besides, I still need to prepare dinner…” He adds, thinking that maybe that sounds more like a proper reason.

He can see that Ritsu’s lips are still pressed in a line, his eyebrows frowning and for some reason, Mao can’t help but think that the expression actually looks cute on him, stealing a smile from him.

“What about me…?” Ritsu asks, the pressed line of his lips becoming a pout, looking aside and Mao wonders if he’s upset about something. “I will be alone when I return, won’t you be worried that something might happen to me?” He asks, and Mao can see that he is indeed upset.

“Well, you are a…” vampire, he’s about to say, but he remembers that Ritsu still hasn’t said that he is one, that everything is in Mao’s head so far, and that if Shinobu heard that he would definitely wouldn’t like to be accompanied by him. “Fast runner…” He adds instead, hoping that it’s a convincing enough cover-up.

Ritsu seems to suspect something, raising an eyebrow sceptical, and he’s about to ask Mao more, but then Mao reaches out for his hand, holding it.

“I believe in you.” He says with a smile in his face, looking directly into his eyes and using the softest voice that Ritsu has heard him, feeling that the warmth of his hand feels like holding the sun itself, making him feel that he’s melting, and that if his heart worked exactly like a human’s, right now it would be beating so fast that it would be painful.

It’s not fair, it really isn’t fair how easily Mao can make him do everything he wants, how easily he wins him over and over.

“Just for this once…” The vampire answers, looking away from him and standing from the couch, reluctantly letting go of his hand and walking in direction to the ninja. “Prepare the best dinner you can for me.” He orders then, trying to cover up how easily he has given in to Mao, something uncharacteristic on him.

Shinobu looks at him with something like surprise and fear in his face, and Ritsu has to do his best to make sure that he won’t gare at him. He has to remind himself that they aren’t enemies, that Mao would get angry if he hurt him.

But when his fear is so obvious, when it smells so good, he can’t help but feel his fangs ache.

“I won’t bite you.” Ritsu tells him when they leave the house, being greeted by the cold of the night, not having realized that it was already so late and that maybe Mao was right when he asked Ritsu to help Shinobu get home. “So don’t be so scared…” He adds, trying for his voice to sound as unthreatening as possible, but still not friendly.

Ritsu really doubts he will actually be able to become friends with this kid, and part of him thinks that one of Mao’s intentions when he forced him to walk him home was that, to help them get closer.

“Yes! I will stop being scared now de gozaru!” The ninja says, tense too tense, contradicting his words as he’s very obviously scared.

Ritsu has to bite the inside of his cheek annoyed, reminding himself that even if it’s dark, even if it doesn’t look like there’s anyone around, he can’t drink his blood unless he wants to make Mao hate him.

“If you are so scared why are you staying with me?” Ritsu asks him, starting to feel angry. “You could run all the way to your house and leave me behind, wouldn’t you feel safer that way?” He continues asking, thinking that even if he could catch up to the ninja running, if he decided to do that he would just let him be and go back to Mao’s house, saying that it’s definitely not his fault that the kid was scared of him.

“I would indeed feel more relieved if I was walking by myself…” Shinobu agrees, for once his voice not shaking as he speaks and Ritsu is starting to feel that maybe they might be able to have a proper conversation this way. “But Isara-dono believes in you, and I believe in Isara-dono.” Is the answer he gives, and he sounds so sure of himself when he says that that for a second Ritsu thinks that it actually makes sense.

“Why do you believe in Maa-kun so much?” He asks, and he wonders if it was his imagination, if maybe Shinobu noticed too, that his voice was shaking as he has spoken those words.

Because Ritsu has seen, in this little time he has seen Mao every day, he has seen how much effort he puts into every request that people place on him, doing his best even for the smallest task that he is given.

He has seen how much pressure that ends up giving him, how he has to force himself to smile more often than not, and somehow even if he keeps complaining about it, he doesn’t stop offering himself to help those in need.

He can understand why Mao is respected, why he’s relied on, but he can’t understand the blind faith that everyone seems to have on him.

“That’s because thanks to Isara-dono everyone in the village can smile, de gozaru!” Shinobu replies, his voice suddenly sounding so cheerful that it looks like he has forgotten the fear he felt just a few moments ago. “Everyone in the village wants to pay him back in some way or another, that’s why we believe in him, de gozaru.” He explains, but still it doesn’t seem to be enough to convince Ritsu.

Even if the whole village is smiling, even if somehow Mao managed to make the whole world smile with his magic…

“What’s the point if Maa-kun isn’t smiling as well?” Ritsu asks, and he discovers that thanks to Mao he’s feeling yet another new emotion, one that he isn’t quite sure if it’s worry, anger, or a combination of them. “Isn’t it cruel to sacrifice Maa-kun’s happiness just for your own sake?” He continues, and as soon as he says those words he realizes how much of a hypocrite he’s being.

After all, he forced himself into Mao’s life, refusing to leave even when his wounds got healed, refusing to tell him the truth about himself even if it means putting him in danger all because he’s too scared of being hated by him.

“Who’s going to make Maa-kun smile?” He asks, and he wonders if that’s a question he wants to hear the reply of, because whoever is that person that will be able to stay by Mao’s side, Ritsu won’t be able to feel something other than jealousy toward them.

“Isn’t that you?” Shinobu asks, tilting his head, as if he really was surprised that Ritsu has made that question, as if the answer was as obvious and simple as that. “Isara-dono had never relied on anyone else, and yet he said something like ‘I believe in you’... It’s the first time I see it, de gozaru. Besides...” The ninja explains, but at some point Ritsu has stopped paying attention to his words.

He wants to agree that he will be able to stay by Mao’s side forever. There’s nothing that could make him happier than that.

To be by his side always, to be part of him, an irremplazable existence he can’t live without, close, so close that they are one… There’s nothing he can think that would make him happier.

And actually, there’s a way for Mao and him be together forever, even when he knows the truth, even when he comes to hate him.

Ritsu decides to ignore the ninja, turning back in his steps, walking the way back to Mao’s house, his mind unable to think properly, his legs moving faster with each step and his fangs aching, aching, aching.

He opens the door, gripping the knob so strongly that it could have broken, his breath becoming heavier, his throat hurting, just wanting to drink, drink, drink.

“Oh, Ritsu? you are back already?” Mao asks from the kitchen, his back facing Ritsu as he seems to be almost done with dinner. “That was fast, and here I thought I would have to wait you so we could have dinner together~” He says cheerfully, happy that he will be able to eat right away.

But before he can react, not even knowing what has happened, he’s pushed down into the floor, his head hitting against the cold ground so suddenly that it makes him feel dizzy for a second, not being able to register that he’s on the floor, that he’s in pain.

And that the lazy and lethargic Ritsu he has known all this time has completely disappeared.

Instead, what he finds when he looks above him is a hungry beast baring its fangs, with eyes so red that they look as if they were made of blood, its pupils just a fine black line, like a serpent’s, in a sea of blood.

He looks like Ritsu, but Mao is sure that he can’t be Ritsu. The Ritsu he knows would never do something like that, would never hold his wrists and pin him to the ground like he’s doing now, stopping all his movements, hurting him with the strength he’s being held with.

“Ri… Ritsu…?” Mao calls out to him, but his voice still doesn't show fear yet, instead he can only feel surprise. Even if he doesn’t want to admit the reality he’s living now, even if he doesn't want to feel scared of Ritsu, he has no way of denying it.

Just like he suspected, Ritsu is really a vampire.

But unlike he expected, he hasn’t been able to hold back his instincts and he has given in to his thirst.

He can start feeling the fear growing inside him, every passing second feeling more intense as he can't get rid of Ritsu's grip. And Ritsu can smell it, smiling as he brings his head closer to Mao’s neck, taking in his scent but still not biting.

No matter how thirsty he is, it would be a waste if he didn’t get to enjoy the feeling that Mao is showing right now, the expression in his face, the scent, the way he can hear his blood rushing through his veins, the way his heart beats faster and faster, making a beautiful sound that fills his ears.

Ritsu will never be able to experience a feeling like that, fear about a threat that could kill him, fear because he might get killed. That’s why he’s enjoying the sight as much as possible, thinking that Mao must be feeling more alive than he has ever felt.

He should enjoy it, after all, he won’t ever get to live a moment like this.

He will never be able to see Mao again once he has drank his blood.

“Ritsu…” Mao seems to still want to call out for him, hoping that his voice will reach him, that he will somehow manage to bring the Ritsu he knows back, but his struggle only seems to please Ritsu even more.

In the back of his mind, which feels incredibly distant to him right now, as if it wasn’t even a part of him, Ritsu knows that this isn’t the solution, that he shouldn’t be doing this, that no matter how much he desires to be with Mao forever, this isn’t the answer, this way they won't really be together forever.

There's no meaning in being together for all eternity, with Mao's blood inside him, if Mao won't be alive.

“Ritsu, you…” Ritsu can’t wait any longer, he raises his head so he can get a last look into Mao’s face before he digs his fangs into his neck.

But instead, as soon as he raises his head, Mao takes the chance to attack, using his own head to hit Ritsu in the face, a headbut so strong that it hurts even Mao.

“You perverted bat! What do you think you are doing!?” Mao asks angrily when the pain makes Ritsu release him, taking the chance to stand up and put some distance between Ritsu and him. Probably not safe enough, but enough for him to give some time to prepare a trick if he tries to get close to him again.

But instead, Ritsu is still on the floor, lying down, looking at the ceiling and finally coming back to his senses, trying to understand what has just happened.

“I…” He blinks once, twice, thrice, still not really getting the whole picture of what happened. He remembers that he was walking the kid back home, and then his fangs started hurting. “Lost control…” He realizes, the harsh reality hitting him too bluntly, hurting him as if he had been stabbed right in the heart.

This is it, he has done it, he won’t be able to stay by Mao’s side anymore.

“Is Sengoku okay?” Mao asks firmly, and just by the way he’s speaking, Ritsu knows that he must hate him, that he must be getting everything ready to get rid of him with one of his tricks.

“I still feel thirsty, so I didn’t drink anyone’s blood.” Ritsu answers, covering his face with one of his hands, not wanting for Mao to see his face anymore. Or maybe it’s him the one who doesn’t want to look at Mao, not wanting to see hate in those green eyes of him.

The green colour that he will never get to see again.

“Can you stand?” Mao asks, and much to his surprise, even if his voice sounds harsh, he’s offering a hand to help him stand, something that Ritsu doesn’t understand.

He has been attacked just one moment ago, how can he be so calm?

Ritsu decides that as much as he would love to hold his hand, he passes on it, standing up by himself, not being able to look at Mao’s face. Even if he should enjoy his presence for as long as he can, he can’t help but feel guilt for hiding the truth, for attacking him, for hurting him.

And he can still smell the fear in him. Even if he's trying to cover it, he can't. His body still shaking, and while he does try to look at Ritsu, he can't look at him into the face.

“So… How are we going to…”

“I will leave.” Ritsu interrupts Mao, not even hearing him, biting the inside of his cheek after he says those words, his chest hurting, his mouth tasting like blood even if he hasn’t drink any, not realizing just how hard he was biting. “Having a vampire living with you isn’t safe.” He adds, already heading toward the door, thinking that the sooner he does this, the sooner he will stop hurting.

That, if he ever stops hurting.

“Wait! Ritsu!?” Mao calls out for him surprised, chasing him, confused.

Even if Ritsu is a vampire, it’s not like he didn’t know already, even if he tried to ignore it until Ritsu felt comfortable enough to say it, he had discovered the truth long ago.

There’s no need for him to leave, they can find a solution.

“Weren’t you going to become my familiar!?” Mao asks him, louder than he intended, realizing that his voice has sounded more desperate than he intended.

But it seems to work, as Ritsu stops in his tracks and turns around to face him.

“Did you find a way to turn me into your familiar?” He asks back, forcing himself to smile. A smile that doesn’t hide any of the sadness that he’s feeling, a smile that actually shows the sorrow that he’s feeling. “Did you find a way to calm my thirst without having to offer me your blood?” He asks as well, thinking that even if he becomes Mao’s familiar, he will still be in danger if he loses control again.

Mao would love to say that he has found a way, that there isn’t any problem with Ritsu staying by his side forever.

But truth is that he hasn’t found anything, and that he didn’t even consider the fact that Ritsu needs blood to live.

Mao had faith in the fact that Ritsu would be able to hold himself. That everything would continue as it had been until now.

“I… haven’t…” He admits, looking down, feeling ashamed of his mediocre abilities.

Ritsu takes a deep breath, still keeping the smile but feeling that his worst fear has been confirmed.

“Then there’s no other choice.” He says firmly, finally stopping to force himself to smile. “It was fun, being with you.” He adds, so seriously that Mao can’t help but feel that he might be messing with him.

For this once, he would love it if it were that way. That even if it’s a mean and twisted joke, Ritsu would say that he’s staying, that he would start teasing him like he always does, saying that his reactions are too fun to see that he can’t help it.

But he knows that it’s not a joke, that Ritsu is being serious, more serious than he has ever seen him.

“See you.” Ritsu says, once again leaving the house, this time forever. He should say goodbye, he should know that there’s no way he will ever see Mao again, but in his heart, he doesn’t want to give up yet.

“I will find the way!” Mao promises as he sees him leave. “I will find the way to turn you into my familiar, I will find you and I will bring you back!” He can feel his whole body shaking because of the frustration he feels for not being able to do anything right now. “I won’t give up!”

Mao doesn’t really understand the reason he feels so much pain at the idea of not being able to see the vampire again. Even if he hasn’t known him for that long at all, even if he could have killed him just a few moments ago, even if he kept complaining that it was a pain to take care of him, even if part of him was hoping that he would leave so he wouldn't have to tell him his own secrets.

He doesn’t understand why it feels like he’s drowning as he sees Ritsu walk away, that even if he wants to chase after him, his legs won’t answer him.

And when he blinks and sees that Ritsu has completely disappeared from his sight, as if he had never been there in the first place, it feels as if something had disappeared from inside him as well, something that he can’t quite know what it is.

He turns back, closing the door of his house behind him, directly walking into the studio in which all his books are stacked.

“I won’t give up.” He repeats, this time as a promise to himself.

Even if Ritsu has decided to leave him, even if Ritsu thinks that this is for the best for him, Mao doesn’t agree with him, he can’t agree with him.

That’s why, no matter what, he will find another solution, one in which both of them can be together.

At some point, Ritsu’s dream to become Mao’s familiar became Mao’s own dream and no matter what, he will do anything to fulfill it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks for reading!  
> It's thanks to people who are still reading this story and letting me know that they are interested in it that I could bring myself to continue, so please let me know your thoughts about it!
> 
> Update
> 
> Originally, it wasn't going to end like this.   
> Originally, this story would continue going for a long, long while. 
> 
> The reason I'm ending it here is because I can't keep going on. 
> 
> After over two years of receiving death threats and harassings on twitter, on my curiouscat and being forced to move accounts more than once, I have decided it's better to give up. 
> 
> I'm grateful of the support I have received until now, I really am, but it's not enough to overcome the fear of feeling that people want me dead just for writing something I enjoy. 
> 
> It ends here. For better or for worse, I will never write a continuation for this fic or any new work. 
> 
> I'm very sorry and thank you. 
> 
> Please don't let other creators end up feeling the way I did.


End file.
